


Things are Different

by spn_fam17



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Boy King of Hell Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester - Freeform, Dean Winchester and Sam Winchester - Freeform, Emotionally Hurt Sam Winchester, Jack - Freeform, Sam Winchester - Freeform, castiel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 52,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23794999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spn_fam17/pseuds/spn_fam17
Summary: Sam has been concerned about the impending battle with Chuck. He doubts himself and still feels hopeless. One night, Sam suddenly appears in a town that appears abandoned and looks like it had been destroyed. Where was he? Where was his family? What caused this to happen?*This is an AU set after 15x13.*All rights are reserved to the CW television show Supernatural.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

Sam woke up in a sweat. He had another nightmare, which was not unusual. Sam’s whole life was pretty much a never-ending nightmare.

He looked over to his alarm clock to see the time. 

3:47 am.

Sam sighed and ran his hand down his face. He felt so tired, but knew his fast heartbeat and high adrenaline from the nightmare was going to keep him from being able to go back to sleep. 

He sat up in his bed and threw the sheets off of himself. The cold air of the bunker dug into his skin like he was turning to ice. Sam tried to ignore the discomfort of the cold and turned to the side of the bed, his long legs hanging over the edge, or more like sitting on the edge, since he was tall enough for his feet to touch the ground.

Slowly, Sam stood up and walked towards his door. He wondered if anyone else would be up right now. It wouldn’t be weird for that to be true. Dean had his own fair share of nightmares that kept him up some nights. Typically, Dean would get up and walk around the bunker some, as Sam could hear the pacing outside his door some nights. Other times, his older brother would try to do research for a case or for how to stop their next big problem. 

Castiel and Jack had left earlier the day before. They were in search of some more information on Chuck's whereabouts, so they wouldn't be in the bunker now. 

Sam slowly opened his bedroom door, trying to remain as quiet as possible. He hoped Dean was resting, and he didn’t want to disturb him. 

Once the door was cracked enough for him to get through the opening, Sam walked out into the hallway. The cold, linoleum floor bit at his bare feet. Luckily, Sam had a gray long sleeve shirt and sweatpants on, which helped him stay a little warmer. He decided he was a little hungry, so he headed towards the kitchen.

As Sam walked in the direction of their food source in the bunker, he realized how quiet his surroundings were. Dean must still be asleep. He passed his brother's room, where his door was shut, and he could hear quiet snoring coming from it. It made Sam smile a little, to know his brother was safe and resting well for once. 

Finally, Sam reached the kitchen and headed towards the fridge. He decided to fix himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Typically, he would go for a smoothie, but he didn’t want to wake Dean with the blender. 

After Sam made his sandwich, he went and sat at their kitchen table to eat. Through all of the silence that engulfed him, Sam’s thoughts ravaged on.

He was tired. This time his nightmare was about Dean and him turning into vampires and ripping out Jack’s throat while Castiel’s dead corpse lay a couple feet away from them with his sleeve slightly rolled up on his left arm, showing The Mark. This had been a terrible dream Sam had been having for several weeks now, ever since Chuck showed him the possible future if they trapped him. It almost made Sam’s stomach roll thinking about it again.

Sam had been having a difficult time since their last interaction with Chuck. This battle would be their biggest one yet. While that was already so much as it was, Sam still felt slightly hopeless. He couldn’t help but wonder if they could actually stop him. Chuck was an all-powerful being, the biggest and now the baddest supernatural being they had ever faced. The cards were not stacking in their favor.

Sure, there was Jack, who Billie said would stop Chuck. But she never gave any specifics. Would Jack survive it all? Would he still be their kid? What exactly would happen? They just lost the kid and got him back, and Sam didn’t want to have to relive that all over again. He didn’t want to lose any more of his family. 

He honestly just felt like a useless weight for them all to carry around now. Jack was preparing to take on Mr. Deity. Castiel was working on getting stronger and researching more about how to stop Chuck. And his big brother Dean was strong and focused to finish the task at hand. Sam envied their sureness to go up against such a powerful foe. He knew that they were still nervous and scared, but they didn’t allow that to overwhelm them.

Originally, Sam was the same way. But, after Chuck showed him all of that, Eileen leaving, both him and his brother losing their luck, and Jack suffering from his soul returning, his confidence had shattered a lot. It would slightly come back in waves some days, but would be ripped out from under him after another issue arose. 

He just didn’t want to give up. He didn’t want to disappoint his big brother again. He had done it too many times before, from the demon blood to not looking for him in Purgatory. Sam never wanted to hurt Dean, but he always seemed to mess everything up somehow. He hated himself still for the things he had done in the past. But, this whole situation they were in terrified Sam because he didn’t want to mess up again. He wanted to make his family proud, to make himself proud. 

Suddenly, a sharp pain spread in Sam’s head. He grunted and instinctively reached his hand towards the site of the pain. It kept returning, along with a strange, tingly sense in his body. 

Sam started to worry because this was not normal. “Dean!” 

The tingling was getting worse, and he started to feel lightheaded. “DEAN!!”

Sam could hear a door opening and feet running across the floor, heading in his direction. Through the pounding in his head, he was able to decipher one word. “SAMMY!”

Sam put his head in the hands, hoping the pressure might ease the horrible pain ringing in his head. He heard someone running towards him and looked up. Dean’s green, worried eyes met his hazel ones. He started walking towards him and stopped suddenly, pupils dilating slightly as if surprised. 

“Sammy?”

Sam’s body felt like it was on fire and he yelled. Suddenly, he felt like he had been whisked through the air and collapsed. 

He was trying to breathe again. Slowly, the pain and tingling disappeared and he was beginning to feel better. He had no idea what had happened to him. He then realized Dean was there with him, so he lifted his head up.

Except Dean wasn’t in front of him. Dean was nowhere to be found. What was more confusing to Sam was the fact that he was no longer in his kitchen, or even the bunker. He was lying in an abandoned building. 

Sam started to stand slowly. He felt a sharp pain in his left foot, looking down to find a splinter in it. He pulled it out quickly and realized he was still in his pajamas with no shoes on. 

What the hell just happened?

Sam wondered for a moment if he had actually gone back to sleep and was dreaming, except the pain felt super realistic. He looked around his surroundings and saw nobody. 

“Dean!”

No movement. He looked around again. Was he kidnapped? Did an angel zap him somewhere? 

That wasn’t possible, unless Cas did it. The bunker’s wardings were fixed so no one else could get in there. But, why would Cas zap him to an abandoned building?

“Cas! Jack!”

No answer.

“DEAN!”

Still no answer.

Sam decided it was best to go investigate. It would be worse if his kidnapper or whatever found him defenseless in the middle of a room. He needed to find a weapon and get help. And he definitely needed shoes ASAP. 

Sam carefully walked around the building. It looked like a tiny, old house. The wooden floors creaked as Sam tiptoed around the parts that had caved in. The wallpaper appeared to once be a calming blue, like the color of the sky on a cloudless day, but it was covered in dirt, dust, and cobwebs. It was also peeling off the walls. 

Sam had to pay close attention as rusty nails protruded from the floorboards. He thought to himself that from now on, he was wearing shoes everywhere he went, maybe even to bed. 

Spiders were crawling all around him. There were so many webs, and it made Sam worry about getting bit. He could not tell the different types of spiders in the house, but he bet there would be a brown recluse or black widow wandering around. Their venom would be bad news right now since he had absolutely no clue where he was, no clue where his brother was, and had no phone on him.

Sam was almost to the doorway when he made a misstep, causing the floorboard under his right foot to collapse in. His foot went straight down. Luckily, the hole wasn’t too big, and his thigh couldn’t fit, but he twisted and fell, landing on his left wrist to stop himself from falling all the way through, causing sharp pain to shoot through his arm.

Sam gritted his teeth to keep from groaning in pain. His foot hurt, too, and he prayed it wasn’t twisted or anything bad. He was pretty sure he just sprained his wrist, and could not afford for his ankle to also be out of commission.

After calming his breathing down, Sam used as much strength as he could muster to pull his leg out from the hole. His wrist screamed at him, but he ignored it. He had to deal with the biggest problem first, and that was his leg being stuck in a rotting, decaying house. After pulling for a few seconds, his leg finally freed and he got it out. 

“Ugh, this is awful. Where the hell is Dean at? I could use some help right about now,” Sam whispered to himself. 

He slowly stood up, putting his weight all on his left leg. He needed to test out the right one to make sure he was okay. Once he was upright again, he started to put a little pressure on his right foot. It wasn’t too bad, so he put more. It was uncomfortable, but not as painful as his wrist. He silently celebrated one win and decided to continue on. He knew he needed to wrap his wrist, but as his older brother always told him, ‘We have to work though one thing at a time, Sammy.’ 

He really wished Dean was with him right now. He felt worried about where his brother went to. He remembered he was right in front of him, a stunned look on his face. And then, he was gone. Sam truly hoped he was okay. 

After more careful steps, Sam finally reached the door. It was hanging on by only one hinge and looked like it would disintegrate from just one touch. Sam grabbed the doorknob and barely pulled on it, and it slammed open and completely fell off of the frame, causing Sam to jump back and hit the wall, slamming his hurt wrist into it. This time, Sam moaned in pain as his wrist was pulsating. 

He gathered himself together again and walked out of the door and could not believe his eyes.

The town looked deserted. He could see down the streets and every house looked exactly like the one he was in. There was no green grass, and instead dry dirt for land. There were dead plants everywhere. The trees looked like they had been fried after being hit by electricity or something. 

Sam realized he was holding his breath and finally released it. The smell finally hit him, and it caused him to stagger back. It smelled like death. Actual death. Truthfully, Sam realized he recognized the smell. He was trying to place it when he gasped with horror. It smelt like burnt human flesh. Just like Hell. 

Sam booked it down the stairs and landed on his hands and knees in front of the house, ignoring the horrible pain in his wrist. The contents of his stomach started spilling out in front of him. He gagged and felt a burning, wet sensation in his eyes. He can’t be in Hell again. He just can’t. 

Once his gagging stopped, Sam spit out the disgusting taste in his mouth and pushed himself away from the mess he had made. He was shaking and felt the tears rolling down his face. This couldn’t be real. 

Sam took a deep, shaky breath to help reel himself in. “It can’t be Hell. Hell felt different than the real world. This feels more like the real world. Not Hell.” He kept muttering this over and over again until he calmed down.

Once Sam had finally gotten his breathing back to normal, he stood up. He realized there was no torturing happening around him. He looked up towards the sky and saw mostly clouds, but he could also see the sun peeking through. That never happened in Hell. It was just fire and darkness everywhere. He had to be on Earth and not in the pit. 

That just raised a terrible question in Sam’s mind then. It smelt like burning flesh and everything looked destroyed. He wasn’t in Hell and he had to be on Earth.

What happened then and where exactly was he?


	2. Chapter 2

Sam had walked down the street in hopes he could find somebody to help him. However, at this point, he wanted to find anything that was alive. 

He passed house-by-house and saw no signs of anything living around him. He eventually realized he had walked about a couple of miles from where he popped up at. 

His feet were killing him. The sun was bearing down on the earth below him, causing the dry, broken asphalt that once was a road to be unbearably hot. It felt like he was walking on hot coals. 

He pondered about moving to the dirt, but it looked just as hot, and that terrain would be worse on his bare feet. 

It had to be about 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside. The sweat was pouring down his face and body, almost like he had taken a shower. His wrist was getting worse and he really needed to wrap it. He could also feel dehydration starting to kick in, along with exhaustion.

He kept calling out to see if there was anyone around, but always received no answer. Sam just kept silently praying this was all a dream and he would wake up in his comfortable bed at his home with his family. 

But this is the life of a Winchester. It is cursed and filled with pain. 

Finally, Sam started to see what looked like a downtown area. He hoped that maybe someone would be there. Even if not, he hoped he could break into a store and get some food and water. Maybe even shoes. That would be an actual blessing right now. He was so sure his feet were massively blistered. 

Once Sam reached to outskirts of downtown, he realized it looked like a battle was fought there. The glass of the storefronts was bashed in. There was dried blood in different areas, from benches to the sidewalk. All of the plants were dead here, just like the rest of the town. It was completely silent. The sound of a pin dropping could be heard, it was so quiet.

Sam continued forward. As he moved towards the storefronts, he realized old, broken glass was everywhere. He needed to be extra careful, more careful than he was walking around the house. He really couldn’t afford to cut something open and bleed out at this point. 

He quickly found a little shop that he recognized was once a shoe store. While he knew food and water were essential, shoes were now a top priority with all of the glass. Luckily, the sidewalk at this store wasn’t as covered in glass as the others. Sam maneuvered his way to an opening and stepped inside. 

It smelt of mold and more death. Sam looked around the store to see if he could gain his bearings. On his left was an almost destroyed mural on the wall displaying the store name, which he decoded as The Right Foot. He looked on his left and saw about five dead rats all huddled together. He wondered if that was the cause of the terrible stench in the building. 

Sam carefully walked forward. Most of the shoes appeared to be gone, eaten by rats, or burnt. After walking a few of the aisles, he found a pair of blue tennis shoes. They appeared to mostly be in shape, just covered in a lot of dust. Sam grabbed one of the shoes with his right hand and blew the dust off. After a huge coughing fit from dust entering his lungs, he was able to have a better look at them. They were a little messed up, but not too bad for him to wear around and not destroy his feet. 

Sam used his right hand to put on both pairs of shoes. He almost yelped in pain when he had to use his left one to help tie them. He had to find a makeshift splint soon to help his wrist out. 

Once he got the shoes on, Sam could feel the major difference for his ability to walk. His feet were still in terrible, terrible pain, but they weren’t as bad as before. He was able to walk through the glass without ripping his feet to shreds. Finally, a win.

Sam exited that store and looked around at the other ones. One place was a pharmacy that was completely burnt down. There go the hopes for a splint or pain medication. He also saw a boutique and a bank, both looked so much worse than the shoe store. Sam noticed slightly down the road was a gas station. 

Bingo.

Sam started his way towards the abandoned building. There hopefully was bottled water and maybe some chips there. Anything sounded good to him right now. If he didn’t get food and water in himself quickly, he would pass out. In this heat and with no one around, if he passed out, he would definitely die. 

Sam finally reached the station. The pumps actually looked pretty decent considering the state of the town. He saw a small break in the glass door, so he used his elbow to smash in the rest of it. After two hits, it completely shattered. 

He stepped into the station to find it mostly untouched. This was somewhat unsettling since everything else had been utterly destroyed. Still, Sam wasn’t really complaining since that meant there was food and water for him. 

He walked immediately to the fridges and found the water bottles. He opened the door and basically ripped the cap off of it. He lifted it up to his mouth and felt the warm water hit his lips. While cold water would normally have been more satisfying, this warm water was the best damn water he had ever had in his life. He pretty much chugged the whole thing in under a minute. After he finished it, he grabbed a couple more bottles for the road. 

He scanned the shelves and found some peanuts and almonds, along with a bag of stale chips. Sam opened to chip bag and quickly ate them. His stomach was growling so loud at this point, he would’ve eaten actual dirt. The horribly stale chips helped his hunger, and he decided to take the nuts with him for later. He walked behind the cash register and found the shopping bags covered in dust, just like the rest of the town. He grabbed one and put his stash in it to help him carry it all.

He saw some t-shirts on the other side of the building and headed that way. Ripping one of those up would work to at least wrap his injured wrist. 

As Sam neared the shirts, he finally read what they said. Lebanon, Kansas is my home. 

Lebanon, Kansas. 

He was home?

This is not what Kansas looked like. At least it wasn’t about two days ago when he went out for supplies.

Sam’s mind was running a hundred miles per hour. How can he be in Kansas? There was absolutely no way this happened overnight, unless Chuck did something. This had to be Chuck’s doing. 

They were too late. 

Dean. He had to find Dean. His brother had to be okay, he just had to.

Sam quickly grabbed a pink shirt and ripped it, causing his wrist to remind him that it was very injured and shouldn’t be used like it was. He wrapped it the way he had done for his brother over the years, and his brother did for him. 

Sam really missed Dean. He missed Cas. He missed Jack. 

He hated being alone. 

Sam felt a tear slip past his eye and quickly wiped it away. This was no time for crying. He had to be strong and figure out what was going on. 

After gathering himself together, Sam exited the gas station and continued on his way. He was hoping to find a vehicle of some sort somewhere in the vicinity, but saw absolutely nothing. He knew driving would be much quicker, and would help save him some energy. Obviously, that was not going to happen, though.

The next hour, Sam kept walking and walking. He never saw anything other than the desolate environment all around him. More abandoned buildings. More dead trees. No humans. 

He was really starting to feel the loneliness. It was almost suffocating. He was starting to truly believe he was the only person left on Earth. Was this some sort of messed up trick by Chuck? Make him be stuck on this planet all alone. Alone with his thoughts and horrible nightmares. Alone without his kid. Alone without his best friend.

Alone without his brother. 

Sam wanted to cry. He wanted to break down, maybe pull a Dean and break something. He wanted to scream. Maybe something would race to him if he did, whether it be to help him or end him. Honestly, Sam wasn’t sure he would mind either option at this point.

He felt dread building up inside of himself. He knew something was obviously wrong, but he felt things were worse than he thought. 

Sam realized he was entering another town. He hadn’t really been paying attention. Originally, he thought he was walking towards the bunker, but officially his feet took him in another direction. 

He looked around the new town and recognized it looked similar to Lebanon. It was just as destroyed. It looked a little less catastrophic, though. 

There was less dried blood, so there’s that.

He continued forward until he heard some rustling. Sam immediately stopped, his hunter senses kicking in. He wasn’t at the top of his game, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. 

At first, Sam thought it was only a rat. He had seen mostly dead ones, but a living one didn’t shock him. But then there were quiet whisperings. If the air wasn’t dead silent, Sam would’ve missed them, but he was sure he heard them. 

It was then Sam realized he didn’t have a weapon. Guess his hunter senses were definitely off right now. 

He looked to where the sound came from and saw it was a pharmacy. This one wasn’t burnt down like the other town’s. Next door to that was a hardware store. 

Perfect.

Sam quietly and quickly tiptoed over to the hardware store. Thankfully, the window was smashed open, so he was able to easily get in. He saw most of the store was empty. He looked to his left and saw a hammer chilling by itself on a shelf.

That’ll work.

He grabbed it with his non-injured hand and exited the store. The window was also smashed in at the pharmacy. He ducked in and hid at the first shelf. There was more rustling towards the back of the store. 

He tried to zone in on the noise and finally heard voices. He wasn’t alone. Sam wanted to be overjoyed by that realization, but then used his brain. 

While he might not be alone in this world, it doesn’t mean these people are good. 

Sam got a better grip on the hammer and started to silently stalk towards the whispering, almost like a lion stalking its prey. 

Once he got to the register counter, he could tell they were in the back room. He finally could hear them better and tried to listen in to their conversation.

“- got enough for the Leader?”

“It’s gonna have to be enough. There’s not a lot left here.”

“Okay, man. Let’s get out of here and head back to base.”

Base? There’s a base here? Sam thought he might could head there. 

While Sam was wrapped up in his thoughts, he accidentally loosened his grip on the hammer, causing it to slightly hit the counter he was hiding behind.

Normally, this sound would go unnoticed, but with the dead silence enveloping the town, it was as loud as a gunshot ringing out. 

“Dude, did you hear that?”

“Let’s go check it out.”

Sam heard the cock of a gun and knew he was screwed. He could typically fight pretty well, but with his exhaustion and pain, he wasn’t sure if he could do it against these people. 

The door opened from behind the counter, and Sam prepared himself, making sure he had a good grip on the hammer. One man walked past the counter, completely oblivious of Sam. He had black hair that was almost to his shoulders. He was wearing dirty, ripped jeans and a nasty looking gray button-up shirt. He appeared to be almost as tall as Castiel. 

Unfortunately, while Sam was studying the first guy, he didn’t hear the other coming around opposite of him.

“Who are you?!” 

Sam whipped his head to see the barrel of a gun meeting his eyes. He moved his eyes to the man holding the gun. 

The guy was bald and had raggedy clothes on, just like the other man, who’s attention was now drawn to Sam.

“A better question is who are you,” Sam spat out. He wasn’t going to back down, not without some answers. 

Bald guy was about to answer when Gray shirt spoke up.

“Holy crap, that’s Sam Winchester.” 

Sam’s mouth fell open in shock. How did they know him? Sure, he was somewhat known in the hunting world, but not by his face alone. It was when he introduced himself that others recognized who he was.

“How do you know who I am?!” 

Bald guy appeared shocked and cursed under his breath. At the same time, he slightly lowered his gun. This was Sam’s chance. 

He quickly rolled out of the gun’s shooting range, the quick movement causing Bald guy to pull the trigger. Gray shirt pulled out a knife and was running towards Sam. 

Sam jumped up and swung the hammer, Gray shirt dodging at the last second. The knife was swung near Sam’s head, but he ducked, causing the knife to cut his right upper arm. Sam hissed as the cut stung but focused on the task at hand. 

Another gunshot went off, luckily a couple of inches behind Sam. Officially, Bald guy sucked at aiming. Gray shirt kicked his left hand, which made Sam yell and drop the hammer. His sprained wrist was not helping him now. The knife was plunged towards him again, but this time Sam was able to dodge and wrap his arms over the man’s, using as much force as possible to make him let go of the knife. He finally heard it hit the ground as he felt a horrible pain in the back of his head. His vision started going blurry, making him look up to see Bald guy holding the gun backwards. He clocked him in the head with the gun. 

Sam felt like throwing up and was dizzy, but had to pull himself together. Gray shirt went to grab the knife again and Sam mustered all of his strength to kick his leg, which made him fall to the ground. Sam jumped up, the motion making his head swirl. He saw Bald guy aiming the gun again. He shot, and Sam jumped to the left, the bullet just missing his side. 

Well, his aim was getting better. 

Bald guy tried to shoot again, but the gun jammed. Now was Sam’s chance. 

He jumped towards the man and punched him right in the nose. Sam knew he just broke it. Bald guy cried out and slammed a fist to Sam’s injured wrist. 

Sam stepped back, yelling louder this time because dammit would they stop going for the same spot. He then felt pain envelop his left side of his face. He got punched hard. He could taste iron, meaning his lip was probably busted. 

Sam was about to knock this guy out when a fabric was slammed against his mouth and nose.

Chloroform.

Sam knew he was about to pass out and kept trying to kick and fight. Slowly, his muscles started to weaken. Darkness soon overwhelmed him.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam’s head was swimming. It hurt so bad and felt like he was hungover. 

What happened?

Suddenly, memories slammed into his mind. The pharmacy. Bald guy and Gray shirt. Chloroform. Blacking out.

Oh no. This was definitely not good.

Sam forced his eyes to open, the light blinding him. He couldn’t focus at first, but finally was able to adjust to it. 

Sam realized he was in a restaurant that was obviously abandoned. And it was one he knew all too well. Biggerson’s. One of Dean’s favorite places to stop at. 

He tried to move and felt his arms were restrained behind him. He felt around with his fingers and realized it was zip-ties. His poor wrist was absolutely screaming at him. Oh how he wished he hadn’t sprained it at the beginning of this madness. 

He looked down and saw his legs were out in front of him, also tied together using zip-ties. 

Well this was wonderful.

“He’s awake.”

Sam looked towards where the voice came from. 

A shorter man with a long beard started walking towards him. Sam was about to yell at him when he realized he couldn’t. 

He couldn’t make any noise. 

He didn’t even feel the gag in his mouth. His body really must be in bad shape currently. 

“Tell the Leader he’s awake.”

Sam started to try and move. If he could just find a way to get these zip-ties off, he would be good. 

“Oh, you aren’t going anywhere. If it weren’t for the fact the Leader wants to have the pleasure of killing you himself, I would’ve done it while you were out cold.”

Sam was so confused. He had never met this guy or any of them. He had absolutely no idea what was happening, especially with all of the destruction. 

Suddenly, boots were heard moving across the restaurant. Sam could hear Long beard talking.

“Sir, he’s right there. I’ll leave you to it.”

Sam started to prepare himself for either the fight of his life, or to embrace death.

What he had not prepared for was the figure standing in front of him now.

“Well, looks like it took you long enough to find me, Sammy.”

Dean.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to post a chapter for this story every week! So keep an eye out weekly for a new chapter!
> 
> Note for this Story: Slight Canon divergence in that Chuck has not destroyed all of the other universes he has created, meaning some alternate universes still exist.

Sam was in shock. His older brother was standing over him with an evil grin, just like he used on the monsters he was about to kill.

Dean was alive.

Sam wanted to cry joyful tears because he was so worried Dean had died, but there was a lot off about the man standing in front of him.

This Dean was dressed in all black. Black cargo pants, black t-shirt, black vest, and black combat boots. Dean would never, NEVER, wear that. He was comfortable in his flannel, jeans, and work boots. Also, this man had a full beard. Dean would have some stubble, but would never let his beard grow out. Said it was too itchy and annoying.

The biggest difference was this Dean wanted to kill him. While there were some close calls in years past, Dean would never intentionally hurt Sam. He protected him his whole life, even when Sam begged him not to. 

What the actual hell is going on?

“Sammy, I must say, you look different. I mean, pajamas, blue tennis shoes, and a friggin’ pink wrap-thing is not what I expected you to be wearing.”

Sam wanted to roll his eyes. Of course Dean would critique his appearance, especially the pink makeshift wrap for his wrist. 

“You normally kill my men within seconds, and Marve and Jett said you were pretty easy to take down. What happened? You lose your big, bad mojo?”

What?

Big, bad mojo? What was Dean talking about?

Sam tried to speak, only to have the gag prevent any words from being heard.

“Oh, lemme help you with that, little brother,” came Dean’s sarcastic reply.

Dean ripped the gag out of Sam’s mouth, causing him to start coughing. 

Once Sam’s coughing fit settled, he spoke. “Dean, what the hell are you talking about? I am so confused right now. Why would you wanna kill me? I haven’t done anything recently, just been trying to help with stopping Chuck.”

Dean took a step back. His face was solid and rigid, trying to mask any emotion from showing. He appeared to be thinking for a minute. Quickly, he reached his hand out and roughly grabbed Sam’s face by his chin, making the younger brother yelp.

“Stop playing games with me! You know why. You screwed the world into oblivion. Your mind tricks won’t work on me this time.”

A dreadful feeling started to rise in the pit of Sam’s stomach. What had he done?

“Dean, please. I don’t know what’s going on! I was literally sitting in the kitchen in the bunker eating a sandwich when I get the headache of the century. You came running to help me, and then I woke up in an abandoned house. Where did you go!? And what happened here?!”

Dean let go of Sam’s chin, which he was thankful for. His chin felt like it was about to be crushed under Dean’s grip. His brother’s eyes shifted some from anger to confusion. 

“Wait, are you screwing with me?”

Sam shook his head. He could feel tears starting to burn in his eyes. Through all of the years of pain and suffering, way more than anyone should ever go through, this had to be the most alone Sam had ever been. Even with his brother standing in front of him, he wasn’t acting like himself. There was a huge divide between them, even bigger than with the demon blood and setting Lucifer free fights. 

Dean turned his head in the direction of the kitchen for the restaurant, never taking his eyes off of Sam, though. “Get #1 in here, now!” Dean barked out. 

Sam looked towards the kitchen door and saw a man with black hair and blue eyes come out. It took Sam a second to fully recognize him since he wasn’t sporting his famous clothing item. 

“Castiel?” 

Cas walked towards Dean, completely ignoring Sam. This Cas officially ditched the suit and beloved trench coat for camouflage pants, a black t-shirt, and black combat boots. The sight stunned Sam. Never had he imagined the angel choosing to wear anything like this.

Castiel stood in front of Dean and said, “Yes, sir?”

Dean pointed towards Sam. “Check him. Do your fingers-to-the-head crap and see if he is lying to me.” Cas turned to look at Sam, disgust and betrayal written all over his face. What had Sam done to him? Last thing he remembered, Cas was laughing at Sam and Dean arguing before he headed out with Jack. He didn’t understand what he had done to cause his friend to have such a look for him.

Cas walked up and placed his two fingers on Sam’s forehead. Sam could feel a cool, relaxing feeling overwhelm his body. It was like water calmly washing up on the shore of a beach. Honestly, he couldn’t help but think this was the best feeling he had felt since waking up in that house. Just as quickly as Sam started to feel relaxed, the feeling disappeared. 

Castiel took a few steps back and turned to Dean. 

“It is Sam, but not our Sam. He is from an alternate universe. There is no demon blood in his system.”

It felt like a truck just rammed straight into Sam. He was in an alternate universe. That made more sense to him since everything was too different, including this version of Dean and Cas standing in front of him. What caught him more off-guard and genuinely scared him was the mention of demon blood possibly being in his system.

“W-What? Demon blood? I-I haven’t drank that stuff since Famine screwed with me.”

Dean looked between Cas and Sam. “Alright Cas, give me a second.” The angel nodded and walked back through the door to the kitchen. Dean’s full attention was on Sam now. 

“What is happening in your universe? Start talking, or I start punching.”

This Dean was more straight-to-the-point than his real brother. And, surprisingly, more brash. “My Dean and I are going up against Chuck, or God. We’re trying to find a way to stop him. We have a somewhat plan currently.”

Sam wanted to mention how Jack was their plan, but was scared Chuck could be listening. They still needed Jack’s resurrection to be a surprise to have an upper-hand. 

“Uh-huh, and what about Lucifer? Have you tried to go after him by yourself?”

Sam gave Dean the most confused and shocked expression he could muster. “What?! No! Lucifer is dead in our world, but I didn’t go after him by myself!”

Dean nodded, his lips pursed together like he always did when he was mulling over options. In this case, the options were probably either to believe Sam or kill him. Then, Dean reached in his back pocket, pulling out Ruby’s knife. He started towards Sam. 

Great, this was where Sam died.

“No, Dean, please! Dean! Ple-“

Dean reached behind Sam and cut the restraints on his wrist. He then cut the ones around his feet. That was a happy surprise for Sam.

“Oh- uh, thanks,” Sam said. Dean put the knife back up and motioned to a booth that was torn and slightly destroyed. “Have a seat.”

Sam walked over to the booth and slid in. His alternate brother sat opposite of him. He looked so much like Dean, but his eyes held more pain, which Sam didn’t believe was possible. He looked like he had aged at least ten years in his eyes alone. 

“So, I’m sure you feel like Dorothy and hope you can just click your ruby slippers to go home.” 

Well at least he shared his Dean’s sarcasm.

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Well I think I can answer the question on how you got here.”

Sam stared at him with wide-eyes. 

“You see, Castiel had suggested casting a spell to bring our Sam to us, but I believe we either did the spell wrong, or it’s intended use was incorrect from what we were told. I think instead of our Sam showing up, it pulled you from your universe to ours.” 

Sam tried to wrap his head around that. They had used a spell to open the door to other universes before, so that wasn’t strange, but it never conjured anyone. Plus, the spell they used to get to Apocalypse world was pretty hefty with ingredients that were difficult to find. How did they just do a spell that required a lot of mojo with officially little resources available?

“We have been to different universes before and that required a powerful spell. Where did you get the ingredients to perform this?”

Dean chuckled slightly. It was slightly a sarcastic laugh, but Sam could hear some amusement, too. “Wow, I have missed you being like this.”

Sam tilted his head slightly. His face was going to freeze into one of confusion soon by how many times he had made it. Where had this version of Sam been?

Dean started up again. “Anyway, this spell was friggin’ complicated. We had spent months trying to gather the ingredients. But it was one of our last shots to stop him, so we had to try. I know everyone will be disappointed it didn’t work right.”

Months. Dean and these people had spent months trying to put a spell together just to kill their version of Sam. The horrible gut feeling in Sam’s stomach came back immediately. He was scared to ask his next question, but he needed to know.

“Dean, what happened here? What happened to this version of me?”

Dean’s eyes dropped, and his face faltered for a second. Most people wouldn’t catch it, but of course, Sam could. He knew his brother too well, even this alternate version of him. Sam could sense his sadness and grief, along with his anger.

Dean took a deep breath and started speaking.

“This started about a year-and-a-half ago. My Sam and I were trying to find a way to stop Lucifer. He had broken out of the cage, growing in strength and numbers of followers. His followers used an old, powerful spell to weaken the cage, and they all attacked it. With Lucifer’s help, the cage shattered. Officially, since he was released before, the cage had already weakened some from what it once was. After he broke out, he was on his way to worldwide domination, killing innocent people left and right. We had been trying to fight him, doing anything to stop him. He got a woman pregnant, causing a powerful Nephilim to be born, named Jack. He was only a few days old, but looked in his twenty’s, officially ‘growin up’ quickly for this world. We almost killed him, but stopped and decided to get him away from Lucifer, in hopes to use him as a weapon. Jack started to grow closer to all of us. Castiel believed Jack could finally stop Lucifer, and we trusted Cas.

“It didn’t work, though. We sent Jack in to kill him, and it ended in the worse way possible. He killed the kid, his son. Ripped him to shreds. Turns out, while Jack was powerful, he was too naïve. We were upset and pissed. But we were also devastated. Jack was our last hope. I remember I was drinking myself into oblivion when my Sam was talking to me about finding some way out of this mess. I was drunk and ticked off, so I blamed him for everything since he originally let the Devil out in the first place. I screwed the hell up. If I hadn’t of done that and been an actual good brother, none of this crap would’ve happened. 

“Anyway, Sam decided to take matters into his own hands. He made it his mission to escort Lucifer to his eternal death. He couldn’t find a way, except for one thing. To drink that damn blood again and use his powers against him. He never told me his plan, kept it a secret. Luckily, for him, there were a ton of demons around because Lucifer sent out a hit list, and we were at the top. So Sammy drained them dry. He kept drinking more and more, all while working on his powers. Originally, he was careful with ‘em, wanting only to kill Lucifer, but he started to enjoy the feeling more. He liked being powerful, and he craved more blood.

“Finally, he told me. After like five months of doing this in secret, he told me. I flipped the hell out on him. I was livid and he lied to me, again! He broke our trust, again! And he was poisoning himself, yet again! I just couldn’t deal with it with all the other crappy-stuff happening around us. I told him to never speak to me again, and he left. I realized how bad I screwed up and went after him. Finally found him when he was going up against Lucifer. I had brought Cas with me, and we were too late. Sam’s power was insanely strong. He was able to kill the Devil with the literal snap of a finger. Sam saw me and his eyes were full-on black, just like a demon. He gave me an evil smirk, and that was when I knew I had lost him. He almost killed Cas and I, but thankfully the henchman to Luci got in the way. We were able to escape. But that was when IT happened.

“Sam used his powers to cause like a freaking nuclear bomb to go off around the world. It killed several thousands of people, along with destroying cities, environments, animals, and more. Since then, he has decided to reign as, what the demons have dubbed him, the ‘Boy King.’ Those who have survived the blast and the demons have banded together to try and stop him. 

“I tried to get through to him. I wanted to save him, I mean, he was my brother. I went with a group of people to stop him, but I insisted on letting me speak to him first. I believed I could break through to my Sammy. He pretended to come around but he used our brotherness or whatever to kill the people I was with, which included Jody, Donna, Garth, and even Eileen. Cas almost didn’t make it, but I was able to rescue him. I went with about seventy people, and Cas and I were the only ones to survive. That was when I realized Sam had to die. He was just another monster.”

Sam sat in silence. The information was swimming around in his head. While he knew this was not actually him, he couldn’t help but feel guilt and pain building in his chest. He couldn’t imagine ever doing that. Killing the people he loved. 

Amazing, strong Jody. Funny, powerful Donna. Kind, trustworthy Garth. And Eileen. His Eileen who he truly cared for, and maybe even loved. All dead. Because of him.

Sam’s breathing started to pick up and he was feeling overwhelmed. His thoughts wouldn’t stop racing a million miles-an-hour. 

Suddenly, his head felt lightweight, and darkness clouded his vision.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone leaving kudos for this story and for commenting! I appreciate it all! Here is the next chapter!

Pounding. That is all Sam could feel in his head. The darkness enveloped him, like a warm blanket wrapped around him. The pulsation was uncomfortable, but Sam felt safe here. He wanted to stay this way, but the insistent pounding was becoming annoying. His muscles reacted, making his eyes open slightly.

Blinding, bright light streamed into his eyes. The initial pain caused him to squint and cover his eyes. Slowly, he started to adjust to the outside world again, but was just left confused. 

He was lying in someone’s bed, but he didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t his in the bunker. Plus, his surroundings didn’t match the bunker’s in the slightest. He was in a bedroom that looked worn and ragged. The wallpaper was once a pale yellow, but was now peeling off of the walls. There were also a few holes in the wall. The floorboards were what shown on the ground, but were littered with dust, dirt, dead bugs, and who knows what else. 

Sam looked down to the bed he was lying on and saw there was only a mattress on it. No blankets, sheets, mattress topper, or anything else. The mattress also looked worn out. 

Sam’s concern continued to grow until it felt like he was slapped in the face with the memories of the past few days. The alternate universe. Different versions of his brother and friend. An evil him. 

Sam felt nausea come over him. Oh how he wished he was back home with his real brother. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of right hand, hoping that when he removed it, his eyes would open and he would be back at the bunker laughing with Dean about his crazy dream.

“You awake?”

Sam’s hand immediately fell and his eyes shot open. It was Dean. He was safe. 

That was until he looked at the source of the voice and realized this was still the wrong version of Dean, one that looked at him like an enemy and not his little brother. 

Sam shook the thoughts from his head. “Yeah. What happened? And where am I?”

“You passed out. I guess from the information I had given you. We moved to our new hideout, which is this abandoned house, and I brought you up here until you would wake up.”

Sam nodded. But what was going to happen now. Would this Dean kill him, or would his army of people outside these walls who want their Sam’s head on a stick? 

The image made Sam shiver.

“So, what now? You gonna kill me?”

Dean moved into the room more and stood at the other end of the bed, making sure to keep his distance from Sam. It made the younger brother feel smaller and more alone.

“No. Not yet, at least. I talked with my people and told them the situation. Several of them still don’t trust you, but hell, I don’t fully trust you either. What we are worried about now is finding our Sam. Since the spell went haywire, we need to make sure he is still in our world and not playing ‘Freaky Friday’ in your world.”

Sam felt like he just stepped out of an airplane and was falling without a parachute. If this horrible, evil version of himself was sent to his world, then his family was in immediate danger. 

“We need to find him, then! If he’s there, I have to save my family!” 

Dean put his hands out indicating for Sam to relax.

“We’re doing our damn best, okay. Just chill. And give me your arm.”

Dean moved to the side of the bed now, near Sam. His hand was reaching out, wanting Sam to give him his arm. 

Sam looked down to his left wrist, which he remembered was hurt, and saw it was wrapped better now with actual medical supplies rather than the ripped shirt from earlier. He reached his arm out toward Dean, carefully and slowly. Just as much as this Dean didn’t trust him, he also didn’t trust him back. 

Dean took his arm gently this time. It was the gentlest he had been since they met face-to-face. The older Winchester lifted up the wrapping some and nodded his head. 

“Well, Cas was able to mostly heal it. His grace is not as strong as it once was. Between being cut off from heaven and Sam almost killing him, he has had a hard time with it. Never can juice up all the way or something.”

Dean let go of his hand. Sam pulled it close to himself to examine it. It felt a lot better, just sore. But he could move it more, which was a positive. 

“Well, I owe him a big thank you. This has been a pain in the ass since I hurt it after arriving to this world.” 

Dean slightly chuckled, but immediately covered it up. He walked towards the door again. “Come down once you’re ready.” And he was out the door.

Sam sat there contemplating many things. His main priority was to make sure his Dean, Castiel, and Jack were safe and sound. So, they needed to figure out if Evil Sam was still in this universe or not. He hoped the answer was yes, or he was going to lose it. 

Chuck was already bad enough in their world, they don’t also need to all-powerful evil version of himself burning it to the ground. Sam couldn’t live with himself if that happened. 

Finally, he decided he needed to get up and see what was really going on. He lifted both of his arms up to stretch and was met with a horrible stench. The smell was like rotten eggs and disgusting body odor. He grimaced and smelt his shirt and realized the smell was coming from him. His clothes were covered in dirt, crud, and unexplainable stains. 

He needed a shower and a change of clothes.

He looked around the room. There was no bathroom in this bedroom, but he had a strange feeling there was no running water in the entire house based on the decrepit state of the place. Which would mean no shower for Sam. 

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. Oh well, he thought. 

Sam threw his legs over the side of the bed. He then noticed an abandoned and very old wooden chair in the corner of the room. He saw some items laying in it. He quickly stood up and walked over to it, curiosity peaking. 

Once he reached the chair, he saw a note.

Other Sam,  
Here are some fresher clothes and a bottle of clean water. You smell like a dead fish so freakin’ clean up some. The clothes aren’t exactly clean, but they’re better than the crappy rags you have on.  
-D

Sam chuckled slightly. This version of Dean is extremely different than his own, but this note sounded just like his big brother. Sam could even hear his brother’s voice in his head, annoyance and care all there. 

Sam moved the note off of the pile of things, and saw a water bottle that was half-full. He picked up the clothes to examine them. There was a grey v-neck shirt, black denim jeans, and some undergarments. He looked at the floor beside the chair and saw a pair of black boots. 

No flannel. No blue jeans. None of the clothes he felt most comfortable in.

While Sam was a little upset with the clothing choices in front of him, he was at least thankful to wear something that wasn’t covered in grime. So, he grabbed the clothes and the bottle of water and walked out of the doorway to the bedroom. He saw a bathroom across from the room and walked into it. He then decided to clean up.

After Sam was cleaned up and changed clothes, he thought about what to do next. He figured the first thing would be to go downstairs and see what was happening. He needed to find his darker self ASAP.

Sam left the bathroom and started toward the long hallway. As he made his way, he realized there were two more rooms, their doors, or what was left of them, were shut. Sam was curious what was behind them. The walls looked the same as the bedroom he woke up in: rotting and decaying. 

As he reached the end of the hallway, Sam saw a staircase to his right. He must’ve been on the second or maybe third floor of the home. He examined the steps and saw some holes in them. He started to feel concerned that the floorboard on the steps were dry-rotted. The last thing he needed was to get his foot stuck or fall through the steps. But, there wasn’t another option to get down, so he had to hope his tall self wasn’t too much weight on the fragile steps.

Sam slowly and carefully placed his foot on the first step. He started to shift his weight onto the foot. The step held fine, so he continued down the rest of the steps using the same method. It took a lot longer, but Sam cared more about his safety than speed right then. 

He was almost to the bottom when he moved his left foot to the second to last step and it caved in. Sam ripped his foot up quickly and jumped over the steps, landing on the actual floor. He landed a little wobbly, but he stuck the landing overall. 

“Can you even walk?”

Sam looked over to see a man, who he recognized as Bald guy from the store. The one who tried to shoot him.

“Um, yes I can. The steps are dry-rotted and one gave in when I stepped on it.”

Bald guy laughed and shook his head. He was leaning against a wall opposite of Sam. He was wearing a black hoodie with red jeans that had holes in the knee. Sam couldn’t tell if they were meant to have holes in them, or if it was from wear and tear. 

He pushed off of the wall and started walking towards Sam.

“I still don’t trust you, but I guess the Leader is right. You’re different than him.”

Sam almost backed up as the man walked towards him. But, he thought of what Dean had always taught him and made himself more intimidating by straightening his shoulders back and standing up as tall as possible.

Sam replied, “I’m not him, so that makes sense.”

Bald guy stopped about five feet in front of Sam. He had a smirk on his face, like Sam was entertaining him. It made the Winchester brother want to punch him straight in the face to wipe the grin off. All he can remember was this man pointing a gun at him, shooting to kill. It obviously made him tense.

“Chill out, dude. Look, I thought you were him originally. No harm, no foul. My name is Jett, by the way. Jett Rhodes.”

He reached a hand out towards Sam. Normally, Sam would reciprocate the handshake, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it with these people. They still look at him apprehensively and with hate. Instead he said, “Great. Where is Dean?”

Jett pulled his hand back and was still smiling. “He’s in the main room with the others, trying to get some information about The Enemy. That’s what we call our version of Sam, by the way. Anyway, no one is allowed in there.”

Sam looked at the doorway behind Jett. He couldn’t see anyone, and it looked like the remnants of a kitchen were in there. He wasn’t sure where the main room was at. 

“What about Castiel?”

“Number One is probably checking in with our scavenger group. They have been gone for a few days to gather supplies, but were attacked by some demons on their way back. Number One is trying to heal and check them out.”

Sam wondered if Dean and Cas made these people call them by their ‘code names’ or if they just chose to do it. It was really weird to him. He knew that when the Apocalypse world survivors came to their world, they called Sam ‘Chief.’ It made Sam feel slightly uncomfortable when they referred to him as that, but allowed them to since it was what they wanted to call him. Maybe they were doing the same thing, then.

“Where is he at?”

Jett pointed toward the doorway to the kitchen. “Go through the room and then you’ll be in what once was a dining room. They’re in there.”

Sam nodded and walked around him. Jett didn’t even move. He almost thanked him, but thought better of it.

He walked into the kitchen, which was an actual mess. There was no fridge or stove. The cabinets and counters were falling off of the wall and were rotted. He swore there were probably rats living in them. Dead bugs littered the entire floor, along with dust and dirt. Sam attempted to ignore all of this to continue his mission: find Cas. 

As Sam was approaching the dining room, he could hear talking. 

First, he heard a deep, raspy voice that had to belong to his angel friend. “I’m not sure. We have to follow what our Leader, Dean, says. It his orders.”

Sam was about to burst in when he heard another voice stop him in his tracks. 

“I don’t care what the Leader says. I’m not gonna just trust that kid. His ugly twin done destroyed the world. He could do the same.”

That voice. Sam recognized it from a long time ago. A voice that belonged to a hunter friend of theirs. A voice that belonged to someone who had put up and was close to their surrogate father. 

Rufus.

“Rufus, I understand your grievances, but we have to trust Dean.”

Sam’s mind was reeling once again. Rufus. The man who was Bobby’s hunting partner for so long, only to be killed by Bobby who was possessed by a damn con-worm. It took their surrogate father so long to move past that death. He would always pretend to be okay, but Sam and Dean knew he really wasn’t. 

But this Rufus wasn’t dead. He was very alive.

“I trust ‘em. Always have. But his familial attachment with his brother is gonna get us all damn-near killed! Look what happened to the others! That ain’t happenin’ to me.”

Sam decided it was time for him to step in. He knew it wasn’t going to go well, but he needed to talk to Cas.

He moved into the doorway and all eyes shot towards him. There were about five people in the room (two guys, two girls, and Rufus). Across from them, standing near Sam, was Castiel. He was sporting an all-black outfit today. Sam looked at the other people and his eyes met Rufus’s. There was a deadly glare staring back at him that made him want to hide. 

Sam cleared his voice and said, “Uh, Cas. I need to speak with you, please?” 

Rufus then started walking towards Sam with his finger pointed at him.

“You demon spawn! The hell you thinkin’! Walkin’ around here like you own the place. News flash, you don’t! So why don’t you get your ass outta here!” 

Cas stepped in front of Sam to keep Rufus from getting any closer. “Rufus, you need to relax. He can stay here for now. But you need to back off.”

Those words didn’t seem to calm the man down as it looked like he was about to blow a fuse. Right as Rufus was about to speak again, another voice shot through the room.

“What the hell are you doing, ya damn idgit!”

Sam’s eyes shot like a bullet across the room to see the man he has missed so much.

Bobby Singer. 

“Bobby?” Sam could feel himself start shaking. He had met another Bobby in Apocalypse world, but he didn’t even know Sam and Dean. This one obviously knew their version of Dean, so Sam hoped he was different from the other one. He hoped he was more like their Bobby.

Bobby stopped as soon as Sam spoke. This man was wearing dark denim jeans, a red long-sleeve shirt, and had brown boots on. He even had an old trucker hat on. He looked so much like their own Bobby, making tears start to well up behind Sam’s eyes. 

He had missed their surrogate father after his death. It ripped him to shreds. Sam did get to see and speak to Bobby a few times after his death, but it had been a while since he had last talked to him. He didn’t even know what happened to Bobby after helping Cas in heaven. Sam just wanted him back.

“Bobby? That’s really you?”

Bobby took a step forward towards Sam. Rufus took a few steps back to his companion, still wired and ready to jump if he needed to. Castiel didn’t move an inch, though. He still stood between Sam and the others in the room.

Bobby stood a few feet in front of Cas and looked him in the eye. “Is this that other version of Sam we were told about?”

Cas nodded. Bobby then shifted his eyes to Sam’s. He noticed the older man’s eyes looked sad and depressed. Sam just wanted to run over and give him a hug. 

“You look just like him, ya know. You just as evil?”

Sam shook his head, trying to process the question. He didn’t expect that to come out of his mouth. “Um, no. I’m not evil. I not like your Sam, I swear.”

Bobby nodded his head, hiding all emotion from his face. He took a few steps closer. “I don’t trust you with an inch of my life, ya hear me? The Sam I know killed my wife. He killed her daughter. I’ll never forgive him for that. You may be from a different universe or whatever, but that still stays the same for you. So, you better keep your head on straight, or else.”

Bobby then turned around and left with Rufus trailing behind him. A tear slid down Sam’s cheek as he thought through what the man just said to him. 

Castiel looked to the others and said, “Get back to work. Now!” 

They all jumped up and ran out of the room at that moment. Cas turned to Sam and, with no emotion at all, said, “What do you need?”

Sam took a deep breath to try and calm himself. “I-I need to know where this horrible version of myself is. Do you know?”

Cas shook his head. “No. Dean is meeting with some of our top people to figure that information out right now.”

“Okay. I just- I don’t know what to do. I want to go back home to my world with my family. I miss them so much. But, at the same time, I want to help you all. Even if this isn’t literally me, it still is a version of myself that has screwed everything up. So I wanna help fix things.”

Cas stared so intently at Sam. It was like he was having an argument inside his own head. “Sam, look-“

“NUMBER ONE! We need you!”

Cas turned his head toward the voice and started walking in that direction. Sam decided to follow due to the urgency in the voice. As they passed the dining room, they entered into a room that was completely empty. One the opposite side of the room was a shut door. A boy, probably around sixteen, was standing in front of the door. 

As Cas got there, he asked, “What is happening?”

The boy replied, “We found him! We know where the Enemy is!”

The door opened, allowing the boy and Cas to walk through, and was shut behind them. An audible lock echoed throughout the room. Sam was left alone, concern and nerves rushing throughout his body.

Please don’t let him be in my universe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter! Things have been super busy this week! But don't worry, some really big things are coming up soon! ;)

Sam paced back-and-forth in the empty room. He needed to get in there with all of the action, but he wasn’t sure how without being noticed. There seemed to be only one door, and he was pretty sure waltzing right in was a great way to get kicked right the hell out. 

He realized he would just have to be patient. Normally, Sam was a very patient man. Or, at least, he was better at it than his brother. But right now, with the anxiety he was filled with over his family’s safety, he felt like his patience was out the window.

This all felt like his worst nightmare come to fruition. When Sam had his psychic abilities, and was later informed he would be Lucifer’s vessel, he always stressed about becoming a monster. He never wanted to hurt those he cared about, but too many times he came damn close. Now, an exact replica of his biggest fear is real. 

Suddenly, the door opened and everyone started filing out. About seven people exited the room, including Castiel. While Cas didn’t even so much as glance at Sam, everyone else glared at him as they passed by. 

Once they all cleared out, Sam realized he didn’t see Dean leave. He decided to go in the other room and see if he was in there. 

When he walked in the doorway, Sam noticed all of the technology surrounding him. There were many old computers and tape players scattered around the room. A large, almost-broken monitor was placed on the wall of one side of the room. Wires and cables were everywhere, even hanging from the ceiling. 

Sitting at a computer screen in the corner of the room with his head in his hands was Dean. Sam walked over towards him.

“Dean.”

Dean shot his head up. His hand was next to a knife and he grabbed it, ready to stab whatever was in front of him.

“Whoa! Wait! Dean, it’s me! I’m Sam from the other universe!”

Dean stared at Sam for a few seconds. He blinked his eyes a few times as if waking up from a dream. He put the knife down and turned back around to his computer screen. 

“Dean, I need to know. What did you all find out?”

Dean continued staring at the screen, not looking at Sam. 

It appeared Dean was ignoring him, which only annoyed Sam.

“Dean. Listen, I need to know if my family is safe. Tell me. Now.”

Dean turned to look at Sam then. 

“We’ve somewhat located our Sam. He’s still here. In our world. Your precious, little world is all safe and sound.”

Sam felt relief flood throughout his body. His family was safe. But, while his brother, angel, and kid were alright for now, this world was still in danger. Plus, he still had to get back to his world, and he had no clue how. He had no clue if there were any of the ingredients for the spell to travel between alternate universes here or not.

Dean’s face flashed with slight anger and immediately recovered back into a neutral expression. His jaw was still clenched, though. 

“Dean, are you okay?” 

Dean let out a small laugh and shook his head. “Oh, yeah. I’m all good and well, Sammy. You sure are happy, too. Right? I mean, you should be. Everyone isn’t dead in your world. And your brother isn’t going all Darth Vader on everyone.”

The sarcasm was oozing out of Dean.

“Look, yes, I am thankful that my Dean, Cas, and Jack are safe. But, I want to help save your world.”

Dean stood up, shoving his chair to the side, causing it to fall over on the ground. It made a loud crashing noise, which caused Sam to flinch slightly.

“Oh, so you wanna be a hero. Just pop in here and save the world, huh?”

Dean started to move towards Sam, his arms flailing flamboyantly as he spoke. Sam started to back up as Dean moved closer.

“No. I want to do what’s right. I really want to help!”

Dean let out a loud laugh that was completely fake. “That’s hysterical. You see, I think you really just want to talk to my Sam about how he did it. That way you could do the same thing. I mean, you will always choose the dark side, right?”

Sam stopped moving then. Dean was face-to-face with him at this point. He was basically shouting at the younger Winchester. 

“N-No. No, Dean. I won’t. And that’s not what I want at all. Listen, I know you’re pissed at what your Sam has done. I get it. But you need to understand that I’m not him! I am not like him! I want to help you because I feel bad that a different version of myself caused all of this. That’s it.”

Dean’s face finally showed his emotions. His mouth was slightly open and a single tear slid down his cheek. He appeared shocked and realization seemed to strike him.

“I-uh, I know you and him are, um, different.” Quickly, Dean swiped his hand at his face to wipe away the stray tear. 

He continued, “If you are here to help, then you’ll have to be like the rest of them. A soldier. I give the orders, and you follow them. Got it?”

Sam didn’t much care for following orders in general, but if that is what he needed to do to survive here and stop this evil doppelganger, then he would do it.

“I got it.”

Dean turned away from Sam and started towards the door. He stopped just as he reached the entryway. 

“Your first assignment is to go with our search team on a supply run. We know the general location of him, but need some better weapons, and some freakin’ food and water.”

Dean tilted his head to the side a little, enough for Sam to see some of his face.

“And I want you to see the full damage of what he has done.”

Then, Dean left. And Sam was all alone, once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Sam. I hope you all enjoyed this shorter chapter! I already know where this story is going, which has me very excited to write more! I hope you all are just as excited! 
> 
> Also, thank you all for the support! The kudos and comments mean a lot to me!


	6. Chapter 6

It had been a few hours since Sam had talked with this AU Dean. Since the older Winchester walked out the door, Sam had not seen him again. He had no clue where the other had wandered off to.

Sam had moved to sit by himself in an empty room. There was a wooden chair that appeared to not be as decrepit as the rest in what appeared to be the remnants of a living room. A few people had walked into the space, but once they recognized Sam, they immediately left. Everyone was either pissed or terrified of him. It made Sam feel extremely uncomfortable. 

He was waiting for the search team to head out. The group leader, called Ace, only spoke to Sam quickly. All he told him was someone would grab him when the time had come. This man was probably in his fifties and looked like he had been in the military at some point in his life. He had light brown hair that was barely noticeable because it was cut so short. Overall, Ace didn’t seem too thrilled about Sam joining his team. 

Honestly, Sam was feeling less and less thrilled as the time passed.

As he was lost in his thoughts, he heard the sound of boots walking closer to him. He looked up to find Jett and Long beard from the destroyed pharmacy fight. Jett pointed towards Sam.

“Told ya I could find him!”

Long beard rolled his eyes and said, “Really, Jett? We can’t trust this monster.”

Sam shook his head and went back to looking down at his hands, which were placed in his lap. He just wanted to be left alone.

“Hey, Sam! Heard you were joining the search team!”

Sam looked back up at Jett. The bald man had moved closer to him, while Long beard was waiting at the doorway with his arms crossed. A frown was plastered on his face.

“Yeah. Dean told me to help there.”

Long beard immediately shot forward. “You do NOT get to call him by his name! You call him The Leader, just like the rest of us! You’re not special or whatever!”

Jett put his arm out to stop his, as Sam guessed, supposed friend. “Whoa, man. This dude isn’t from here. Plus, he has a version of Dean in his world. So just back off a little, man.”

Sam wondered why Jett was being so nice to him. He didn’t understand since literally everyone else there trusted him about as much as they would Lucifer. The thought actually almost made Sam laugh darkly. 

How things have changed indeed. 

Jett turned his attention back to Sam and, with a smile, said, “Anyway, I wanted to formally introduce you to my friend here.” Jett pointed toward Long beard. “This is Jacob. He tries to act all tough, but once you get to know him, he’s just a big ‘ole teddy bear.”

Jacob elbowed Jett in the side, causing him to yelp. Jett quickly started laughing, though. “See what I mean?”

Sam noticed that Jacob smiled a little at that. He definitely could see they were friends. 

Jett moved closer to Sam again. He was basically standing right next to his chair. “Well, man, we better be on our way. We got to talk to Number One, so I’ll see ya around, Sam! And stay safe out there.”

Jett patted Sam’s shoulder and walked out of the room, grabbing Jacob on his way. Sam was left alone once again in the room. 

He was mentally trying to prepare himself before he went out. Not only was he going to have to worry about his own team turning against him, but he didn’t really know what was out there. He remembered Dean saying his Sam was the Boy King, but were there still monsters roaming around? And what about the demons? Were they worse here than in his own world?

That one thought alone caused shivers to run down Sam’s spine. Demons were nasty beings. Though some were just annoying or non-intimidating, many of them were horrific just in nature. They performed revolting acts just for kicks and were master manipulators. It disgusted Sam. 

True, he had worked with demons in the past, like Meg and Crowley. But, they were different. At the beginning, they were just as bad as the rest. However, as time continued on, they started to realize how being evil wasn’t the best. They grew. And, in the end, it got them killed. 

Welcome to the world of being allies with the Winchester’s.

Suddenly, Sam looked up and saw a younger guy, probably about seventeen or eighteen, peering from the doorway at him. His eyes and black, shaggy hair were the only things Sam could see. 

Sam decided to speak up. “Hi, it’s okay. I promise I’m not him.”

The boy didn’t move but said in a quiet voice, “They’re ready for you. The search team. They said to meet them outside.”

Sam nodded and the boy disappeared. He hated the kid was scared of him, but considering some of the damage he had heard this other version of himself had caused, he couldn’t blame him or any of them for feeling this way. 

Sam got up and started walking towards the front entrance in the house. He reached the dining room and saw a brown duffle bag with a note that had his name on it lying on a rotten table. He walked over and picked up the note.

Other Sam,

Here’s your equipment that you’ll need. Good luck.

-Dean

Sam folded the note up and placed it in his back pocket of his jeans. He then unzipped the duffle. He saw a flashlight, a water bottle, a flask that had holy water written on the side, some salt in a jar, and a piece of paper with an exorcism written on it. No weapons, though.

He zipped it back up and threw it over his shoulder, making his way towards the door. He soon reached it and pulled it open, almost pulling it off the hinges themselves. When he looked outside, he saw about twenty people standing around talking. He didn’t recognize any of them until he saw two men talking to each other away from the group. 

Bobby and Rufus. 

Great, Sam thought to himself. They hated his guts so this should go super well. 

He walked completely out of the house and towards the group. Ace walked straight up to him. “Took you long enough. We’ve been waiting for about five minutes for your sorry, late ass.”

Sam felt anger and frustration building up inside of himself, but pushed it back down. He needed to figure out what had happened to this world, and going with this team outside of this house would help him piece some things together. So, Sam took a deep breath and replied, “Sorry, sir. Won’t happen again.”

Ace shook his head and remarked, “It better not.” Then he turned his back to Sam and walked toward the front of the mass of people. Once he passed the last person, he whipped around to address the group. 

“Alright ladies and gentlemen. We have been tasked by The Leader to go out and search for necessities to fight The Enemy.”

Some of the men and women surrounding Sam turned to look back at him with anger and hatred. 

Ace continued, “Now, I know some of you are upset that we have a new recruit coming along with us. The Leader has insisted that he come, so we will respect his orders. You are not to harm him, unless you feel that your life is in danger. If you have any issues, you come talk to me. End of story. Remember to stick together and watch your backs. Now, let’s get a move on.”

Ace then turned and started walking forward. Everyone else started following him. Sam stayed slightly towards the back. He couldn’t actually be completely in the back because two guys were covering the group, and they showed no interest in Sam’s help. So, he walked along by himself, as usual. 

They continued to walk and walk for miles. Luckily, fighting monsters daily helped Sam stay in shape enough to make the terrible trek. But it was taking all of his strength to keep going. They had been walking for about five miles. What made it worse was the heat. It was unbearable as there was no wind, and felt like the hot air was just sitting on them. It made it difficult to breathe.

They were getting closer to their destination when Sam noticed Bobby and Rufus starting to hang back some. They appeared to be moving more towards the rear of the group, near him. 

He thought about trying to shoot up towards the front of the group, but then thought that maybe they weren’t coming to him. Maybe they were trying to talk to someone else. 

Of course, Sam was wrong. Bobby and Rufus got closer to him, until they were both next to him, Bobby on the left and Rufus on the right.

Bobby spoke first. “Boy, you are damn stupid to come on this trip.”

Sam shrugged his shoulders and kept looking forward. “I’m just doing as I am told.”

Rufus dryly chuckled and responded, “Yeah, I’m sure ya are. I’m sure you don’t have some big ‘ole scheme hatching in ya brain and are usin’ all of us. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

Sam rolled his eyes, but still refused to look at either of the men who he once trusted. “I don’t have a mastermind plan. I’m just trying to help you all, and then get the hell back to my world. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

Bobby cut in then. “Listen here, ya filthy monster. I trusted a Sam Winchester before. He was like family to me. But then he betrayed me. Betrayed all of us. He murdered my wife and daughter. I miss them so damn badly. But I can’t do nothin’ ‘bout it! And it’s all his fault. So, how are you any different?”

Sam finally turned to look at Bobby. “I keep telling you. I am NOT him. Listen, I’m no saint. I’ve screwed crap up too many times to count. But, the Bobby in my world was like a father to me and Dean. We loved him. I could never hurt him like that.”

Bobby didn’t say anything. Rufus decided to interject. “What about me, hm? Do I not exist in your world? Or did you kill me there?”

Sam turned his head to the other side to see Rufus. “We had a Rufus, too. We met you later because of Bobby. You two were hunting partners and friends. And I remember you were really funny. Refused to work on the Sabbath, so Bobby would have to do all of the work when digging up graves.”

Rufus raised his eyebrows and said, “Well dammit, that does sound like me.” 

Sam smiled a little at that, but quickly covered it up. Rufus continued speaking, “But wait a damn second. You keep referrin’ to me and him in the past. Why?”

Sam took a deep breath. “Because you’re both dead in our world.”

Rufus looked down and nodded his head, his lips pursed. Sam looked over to Bobby who was fuming. 

“And it was your fault, wasn’t it?”

Sam almost startled back at the venomous tone Bobby used. The man standing to his left was not the same man who took Dean and him in when their Dad died. Not the same man who helped Sam with his hallucinations of Lucifer. Not the same man who stood with him whenever the world was against him. Not the same man who loved his two idjits. 

This man was entirely different and broken.

“No. They died on the job. Hunting. When Rufus died, our Bobby was so upset and saddened. Dean and I had to help him through it. And when our Bobby died, my brother and I were devastated. We lost our father.”

Bobby didn’t speak up then. Instead, he started walking faster to get towards the front, leaving Sam and Rufus behind. Sam could feel tears starting to brim in his eyes. This hurt so much.

“I think I may have misjudged ya, kid. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still trust ya about as much as I trust a fish to breathe on land. But, ya don’t seem like a monster.”

Sam felt a small weight lift off of him at that. Rufus saying that he wasn’t the one thing he had always feared of becoming, and what he was regularly called since he arrived in this world, made a huge difference to him. He felt one of those tears slip out and roll down his cheek. He quickly swiped it away, hoping Rufus didn’t notice it.

“Thanks, Rufus.”

Rufus nodded and was about to walk away, but Sam stopped him. “Wait. I have one more question for you.”

Rufus blinked a few times and then said, “Well? What is it? I’m going to die of old age over here waitin’.”

“Our Bobby’s wife died by a demon. It was before we had met him. That’s how he got into hunting. But, he never had a child, or even a step-child. So, I was wondering what happened to yours?”

Rufus’s eyes saddened and his demeanor changed to one of solace. “Bobby got into the life because a vamp attacked ‘em. He almost died, but another hunter saved ‘em. Several years down the road, Bobby met this woman. She had a husband who was a hunter, but he died after a werewolf attacked ‘em. He started talkin’ to her and fell in love. She had a daughter, too. She was much older by the time Bobby had met ‘em. She was like, in her twenties, I believe. Anyway, Bobby married and brought ‘em into his family. Later, when The Enemy was on his ‘death tour,’ he killed Bobby’s wife and her daughter, just to destroy the man. It was the worst pain he has eva’ felt.”

Sam nodded. “Can I ask their names?”

Rufus was starting to walk ahead of Sam, then. But turned his head around to say, “His wife’s name was Ellen. Her daughter was Joanna Beth, or Jo as we called her.”

Rufus was gone. And Sam was left behind to process this information. This Bobby had married Ellen, and Jo became his step-daughter. And this version of Sam killed them both.

Sam felt sick right then and there. 

His head was spinning so fast. While their versions of Ellen and Jo were also dead, Sam didn’t outright kill them. And he missed them so damn much. They never deserved to die, and here in this world it was by his own hands….

Sam could feel the tears again. He could feel them threatening to fall out of his eyes. He hated this world. He hated it so much because Sam Winchester caused all of this pain. Caused all of this suffering. 

While this Sam wasn’t him, he couldn’t help but feel some of the blame fell on him, too.

While Sam’s mind was swirling, the group all stopped, making him snap out of his thoughts. He looked around and noticed he was in a new town. It looked similar to the other ones he wandered through: desolate, destroyed, and deserted. 

Ace spoke up, “We’re here. Alpha Team A: you go search for weapons. Team B: look for food and medical supplies. Team C: go search for more bottled water and flashlights. And Team D: keep a lookout. Go, now!”

Everyone started splitting into groups and walking to different locations. Sam wasn’t told anywhere to go, so he started with the group headed towards weapons in hopes to find something useful to defend himself with. However, Ace grabbed his arm roughly and yanked him away from the group.

“The hell you think you’re going?”

Sam looked at him with confusion. “I was just going to go help them.”

Ace had an eyebrow raised at him. “Was that where you were assigned?”

Sam was tempted to say yes just so he could get what he needed, but remembered what this version of Dean had told him. “No, sir. I was never told about an assigned group.”

“Well, now you are. Go with Team C.”

“But-“

“Don’t you back-talk me. Go now.”

Sam wanted to punch this man straight in the nose. Instead he huffed a sigh and said, “Yes, sir.”

Sam walked toward where his new team was located. They were in an abandoned grocery store, searching for water. There were only four of them in there, including Sam. Two of them were guys. One seemed to be in his twenties, while the other appeared to be in his sixties. The twenty-year-old look scared to death and kept glancing over his shoulder every three seconds. The sixty-year-old kept mumbling to himself. Sam heard something about raisins and beans. The other member of their team was a woman, probably in her thirties. She was frantically running around the store, trying to find any source of water. 

Sam rubbed his hand down his face. This was wonderful.

He looked around for a few minutes and didn’t see anything. Just some empty cans and boxes. The store looked like it had been ransacked. Lots of shelves were knocked down. The floor was scattered with dead insects and rats. 

It was terrible. The aroma was putrid. It smelt like rotten eggs.

Sam stopped dead in his tracks as he was walking toward the front of the store. Rotten eggs. That’s the smell of sulfur which was left behind by….

Oh crap.

Sam turned to his group. “Does anyone have an angel blade?” They all stared back at him wide-eyed. They didn’t speak.

He didn’t have time for this. He ran outside and searched for Ace. 

“ACE!”

He didn’t see him or anyone else he came with. He tried again. “ACE!!”

From across the street, Sam saw Ace come from outside of a building that used to house a barbershop. Sam ran towards him. 

“Whoa! Chill out! What is wrong with you!”

Sam stopped in front of him. “Sulfur! I could smell sulfur in the grocery store. That means demons are either here or have been here.”

Ace was about to say something when a man’s scream broke out. Sam whipped his head to the left and saw one of the guardsmen. His mouth was open from the scream and his eyes were full of fear. What caught Sam’s attention more was the bloody hand protruding from the guy’s chest. The hand had a balled-up fist and was releasing it, causing the deep crimson blood to drip off of it and onto the ground. The hand disappeared, causing the guy to crumple to the ground. Behind him was a woman with long, blonde hair in black jeans, a black tank top, and black heels. Two more people were beside her. A man with a red beard and another man with a black fedora. They both were smiling wickedly. 

She moved forward. “Hello, there. What do you all think you’re doing? You’re in the King’s territory.” 

Her eyes flashed black, along with the two guys beside her. 

Sam quickly realized he didn’t have an angel blade or Ruby’s knife. This was not going to be fun. 

Ace stepped forward and yelled, “Screw the King!”

The blonde girl let out a dark laugh and turned to look at the guys. “Get them.”

They disappeared and screams could be heard throughout the once quiet and empty town. Sam took off running, hoping to find a weapon he could use. He unzipped his bag to find the holy water and salt. 

He ran back to the store and saw fedora guy stab the twenty-year-old boy in the chest. Sam threw his holy water on the demon, causing it to simmer and shriek. It then disappeared. Sam looked around and saw the girl and older man cowering in the corner. He ran over to them and reached out his holy water. “Here, take this. If another one comes back, throw this at them. They hate it.”

The girl reached out and took it from him. She whispered, “Thank you.”

Sam nodded and took off out the door. It was chaos on the street. A few more demons had shown up. Some of the other humans had weapons and were fighting back. Sam scanned throughout the crowd and realized he didn’t see Rufus or Bobby. They were assigned Team A. He tried to remember where they went to.

It popped in his head immediately. The car repair shop at the end of the road.

Sam booked it down the street. Sweat was pouring down his face. He had no clue how he was going to fight this many demons, but he was going to improvise, as usual. 

He finally reached the auto shop and heard yelling. He tried to open the door but realized something was being used to blockade it. So, in true Winchester style, he backed up a bit and then used all of his power to kick the door in. It slammed open, and Sam slipped inside. Suddenly he heard, “Get ya damn paws off me, ya dirty demon.” 

Rufus. 

Sam turned the corner and was in the area where cars were worked on. He saw on the left that Rufus had an angel blade he was trying to use to kill the demon with. This demon, the one with the red beard, was quick though, and had Rufus pinned to the wall. It was trying to turn the blade around on Rufus. 

Sam bolted towards them. He reached in his duffle and pulled out the salt, pouring some into his hand. He finally reached the demon, whose back was facing him, and quickly reached his hand around to slap it over its mouth, causing the salt to enter its system. 

The demon howled and blood started trickling through Sam’s fingers. But, Sam wouldn’t let up. It finally let go of Rufus to attempt to rip Sam’s hand from its mouth. Rufus took that time to fix the blade in his grip. Sam jumped back and Rufus lunged forward, driving the blade into the demon’s chest. The demon flashed and fell to the ground dead. 

Rufus turned to Sam and was about to say something when another voice rang through the room. “Get offa’ me!”

That was Bobby.

Rufus reached the blade out to Sam. “I’m hurt. Demon messed up my arm. Go. Please.”

Sam nodded and took the blade. He ran towards the direction Bobby’s voice came from. He realized it wasn’t in the same room as them and scanned the area. There was a small office that was off to the side.

Bingo.

Sam took off running that way. The door to the office was shut, so he reached out and yanked it open. He saw the blonde girl standing over Bobby with a knife in her hands, ready to stab him through the heart. Sam ran in and was about to stab her when she turned around. She reached her hand out, causing Sam to go flying through the air right out the door.

He landed with a hard thud on his right hip. It hurt so damn badly. But he had to get up. He quickly shook off the pain and got to his feet. The blonde girl walked over to him slowly. 

“Well look at what we have here. You know, you look just like my King?”

Sam took a step towards her, the blade raised. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

He then launched the blade forward, but she stepped to the side, elegantly dodging it. “So, who are you? You’re not him, but you look and sound exactly like him.”

“None of your damn business.”

She smiled at that. Sam tried again and raise the blade up, bringing it down quickly towards her. She grabbed his arm, though, effectively stopping him. “I have to bring you to him. He would love to see this.”

Sam used his other hand to slam against her arm, making her release him. He backed up again. “How about a rain check?”

Sam rushed forward again and she punched him in the face hard. Sam could taste iron, knowing full-well she busted his lip. He tried again and she reached her arm out again, sending him flying into a wall. 

His back hit it hard, knocking the wind out of him. He was trying to catch his breath again as she walked up towards him. She stepped on Sam’s right hand using the heel of her shoe, causing Sam to cry out in pain. 

She leaned her head down to be at his level. “You’re definitely not him. You’re weak and pathetic. But, he would still love to meet you. So, let’s go for a trip, shall we?”

Sam quickly used his other hand to grab the angel blade that laid a few inches away from him. He then leaned his head back and shot it forward hard, effectively head-butting her. She screamed and Sam tried to stand up, his own head throbbing. But, he shook it off and ran forward, and drove the blade straight into her stomach. She gasped and looked him in the eye. 

Sam said, “I told you, no.” She continued gasping for air, blood trickling out of her mouth, until she flashed and collapsed to the ground. 

Sam reached down and pulled the blade out of her. When he looked back up, he saw Bobby walking towards him. Sam was mentally preparing himself for whatever nasty remark was about to be made.

“Um, thanks.”

Sam was shocked. That wasn’t what he had been expecting. He looked at Bobby, who seemed nervous and embarrassed. Sam nodded and said, “No problem.”

Rufus walked in there then. He took a deep breath and said, “They’re all gone. All them demons just disappeared. We have a lot of us that are dead, too.”

Sam had one thought that stuck in his head. Did any of the other demons recognize him? 

And would they tell their boss?


	7. Chapter 7

Sam could feel his heartbeat starting to relax a little. His adrenaline rush was starting to wear off and the exhaustion was kicking in again. 

He looked over to Bobby and Rufus, who both looked just as exhausted. Rufus was continuing to cradle his right arm, while Bobby had a bruise starting to form near his left eye. 

“You two okay?”

Bobby nodded. “Damn demon got a few hits in, but I don’t think I got a concussion. I’ll be fine.”

Rufus interjected with as much annoyance as he could seem to muster. “Well yay for you, Bobby. I’m not okay. I think my shoulder got popped outta place. This hurts like a sonofabitch!” 

Sam stepped forward slightly to the two older men. He still wasn’t sure if they would even let him near them. “I can help with that. I can pop it back into place. I’ve done it for my Dean countless times after some hunts.”

Rufus started to furiously shake his head. “Oh hell nah! That’ll just hurt worse!”

Bobby walked over to Rufus and said, “Stop being a big, whiny baby. You need to get that fixed or it’ll get worse.”

Rufus sighed and nodded. “Okay, fine. But I ain’t happy ‘bout this. Let’s do this, Sam.”

Sam looked over to Bobby to see his reaction to moving closer to his friend. As he started walking towards Rufus, Bobby just waited. He had no anger on his face. Sam continued until he reached the older man. 

“Alright, so I’ll count to three and pop it back in. Try to go to your happy place or something.”

Rufus whipped his head around to look Sam in the eye. He said with sarcasm, “My happy place? So, where the unicorns run around with rainbows coming out of their damn asses?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.” He moved to position his right hand on the front of his shoulder and the other behind it. Right as he was about to start counting down, Bobby walked over towards them. He moved to the other side of Rufus and said, “You got this. I’m right here.”

Sam was ready. “Okay, ready? One, Two-”

Sam used all of his strength and muscle power to push the joint back into place. Rufus’s shoulder made a loud popping noise, which accompanied his yelp of pain. He lightly pushed Sam and Bobby out of the way and started pacing in circles. He then turned to Sam.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THREE?!? CAN YOU NOT COUNT?”

Sam chuckled and replied, “You would’ve tensed your muscles if I said three. That would have made it more difficult to pop it back in. You’ll be fine now.”

Rufus shook his head and mumbled, “Yeah, Imma be fine when I smack that grin off ya face.”

Bobby started laughing then. A real, genuine laugh. Sam hadn’t even seen the man really smile since he met this version of him in this universe. The sight even caused Rufus to start laughing, too. Sam could feel his own grin become more of a smile.

These two men seemed to have trusted him a little more. Their weariness was seemingly beginning to fade. The thought alone made Sam’s heart swell just a little. While he understood the pain their version of him had caused in this world, he would never do that. He has had to take the blame for this other one’s actions. Having someone he cared about, especially who was his surrogate father, show some signs of trust meant the absolute world to him, even if it actually was an alternate version of Bobby.

The moment could only last so long, though. Suddenly, a woman crying out could be heard outside of the auto shop. The three men all looked at one another and quickly ran out. 

Once Sam put one foot out the door of the shop, his senses were over-stimulated. The sun was blinding him, making it difficult to see anything. Yet, he could hear screaming and yelling. Also, he could smell something horrible, something that was familiar to him. His eyes soon adjusted and he stopped dead in his tracks.

There was the woman from the grocery store, the one in his assigned group, lying underneath a large burning piece of wood that came from one of the demolished building surrounding them. She was screaming so loud, and she was begging for help. Begging to live. 

Because she was also on fire.

The smell Sam recognized was burning flesh. 

Flashes of hell started to rip through Sam’s mind, causing him to drop to the ground. He started to attempt to throw up, but nothing came out. Instead, he turned to dry-heaving. 

He felt two hands land on his back, as he was crouched over on his hands and knees on the ground. “Boy, you okay? You need to breathe.”

That was Bobby. While logically Sam knew this wasn’t his Bobby, he pretended in his mind it was him. That he was there soothing and comforting the boy he thought of as a son. He started to feel a little better, and his dry-heaving stopped. He started to take deep breaths, attempting to ignore the horrible stench. 

“Let me help you up.” He felt the hands move to under his armpits. They helped lift him off the ground and back onto his feet. He felt himself regain his balance. “Thanks, I’m okay now.”

Bobby nodded and both men started running towards the woman, where Rufus was standing. Once they got closer, Sam could see how bad the damage was. The wood was on top of her, pinning her in. Sam could only see her from the waist up. There was a lot of blood seeping out from underneath her, but he couldn’t determine if it was due to cuts or if she was bleeding out somewhere. What he could see was the fire that was also eating away at her skin.

Sam kept running towards her when Rufus grabbed his arm. “It’s too late.”

Sam yanked his arm out of his hold. “Who cares? We have to try and save her!”

He tried running towards the fire, towards the helpless woman crying out, when he slammed into something hard and firm. Sam opened his eyes to see Ace. He wrapped his arms tightly around Sam and lifted him easily off of the ground, moving him away from the scene. 

Sam was yelling, “WE CAN’T JUST LET HER SUFFER AND DIE! WE HAVE TO HELP HER! WE HAVE TO!”

Ace let him go, but wouldn’t move from in front of him. “We’re about to end her suffering, but there’s nothing we can do. This is how it is here. We have some who are not too badly injured we have to care for.”

Sam tried to let those words sink in, and the pit in his stomach dropped. He leaned over quickly to look around Ace and saw another guy, one that was in the back during the hike here, walk towards the woman with a gun in his hand. In the span of a few seconds, he walked right up to her and aimed the gun. She cried out again, yelling, “PLEASE NO! JUST HELP ME!”

And Sam flinched in horror as the shot rang throughout his ears.

She was dead. 

The hot, wet tears were fiercely falling down his face as anger took over. Sam jumped up and shoved Ace backwards. “YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO KILL HER! YOU COULD HAVE TRIED TO AT LEAST SAVE HER!”

The same man who shot the woman started running towards Ace, but he put his hand up indicating for him to stop. Ace looked Sam straight in the eye. “She had no chance. It was better to put her out of her misery.”

Sam felt like his blood was boiling. “YOU PUT HER DOWN LIKE YOU WERE SHOOTING A DEFENSELESS DOG! SHE WAS INNOCENT! SHE DIDN’T EVEN NEED TO BE OUT HERE! SHE NEEDED TO BE SOMEWHERE SAFE!”

The tears were coming down more and more. Sam couldn’t believe this. Yes, Sam and Dean had done this to others in the past, but they felt guilty as hell when they did. Sam always wanted to help others before he would kill them. And they just killed her like it was nothing. Like it was swatting a fly.

Ace slowly took a step towards Sam. “This is how it is for us. We don’t have a lot of supplies and resources to help everyone, especially those who are a lost cause. We have to use them on the ones who are less injured. It’s the only way we survive.”

Sam shook his head incredulously. “So, survival of the fittest? That’s your mentality. Well, let me tell you something, IT’S NOT RIGHT! IT’S NOT-”

Sam was broke off with a sob. A painful, gut-wrenching sob. He was confused as to why he was so upset. He knew he was pissed about this because it wasn’t right. But, he realized that this situation, along with all the emotions he had been feeling since arriving to this universe, had been building up inside of him. And now they were being released. 

He fell to the ground, hard. He knew he just busted something up, but he couldn’t give a damn right then. He was trying to control his breathing. He felt the presence of another person beside him. They put their hand on his back. “Breathe for me. In and out. In and out.” That was Bobby. 

On his other side, he felt another presence that said, “Come on, kid. Relax. Just breathe.” Rufus. 

He started to calm down some, using deep breathing to help. Once he had some sense of control over himself again, he looked up. He wasn’t met with Rufus or Bobby’s faces. Instead he saw the sixty-year-old man from the store. The last one of their group to survive other than Sam. He had a water bottle in his shaky hand. It was reached out towards Sam.

Sam looked up towards his face. He had many wrinkles and not much hair. His eyes looked like they once were blue, but had now settled on a bland gray color. On his face, however, was a small smile. He pushed his hand with the water bottle closer to Sam. 

The youngest Winchester reached his hand out and took the bottle from him. “Thank you.” The man bowed his head, turned around, and walked away. Sam looked over to his right and left to see Bobby and Rufus still beside him, crouched down. He looked down at the water and quickly unscrewed the cap, his parched throat becoming more noticeable. He then started drinking the water, which was cool and refreshing. 

After a few swallows, he pulled the bottle from his lips and screwed the lid back on. He then noticed there were still other people around him. He scanned his surroundings and saw about three people, including the one who shot the woman, standing in the vicinity. They were all staring at him with wide eyes. He then locked eyes with Ace, who was also staring at him, but appeared to be in deep thought. It made Sam feel uncomfortable. 

“Let us help ya up.” Bobby and Rufus both took one side of Sam and helped him to stand. When he was upright, he looked down at his legs. His knees were bleeding from the fall he took. 

Ace walked forward and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll get you cleaned up.” The man turned his head a little to where the others could hear him. “We’re good here. Go on and help the others.” They hesitantly nodded and walked away. 

Ace looked between Bobby and Rufus. “You two, too. I’ll help him. You both need to get looked at.”

Bobby and Rufus were about to argue with him when Ace added, “That’s an order.”

They both sighed in frustration and muttered an ‘okay,’ following the others that had left. This just left Sam and Ace standing in the middle of the deserted street.

Sam was wanting to get straight to the point. He knew this man didn’t just make everyone leave just to check out Sam’s cuts on his knees. “What do you want?”

Ace tried to feign a surprised expression, but Sam could see right through him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you know my knees are fine. So, why did you make everyone leave? Obviously, you wanted to do something in secret or private. You gonna kill me or fight me?”

Ace laughed as if Sam had just told the best joke in the world. “Oh, no. I’m not going to fight you or harm you, Sam. I do need to talk to you alone, though.”

Sam raised his eyebrow. He was still on-guard in case something happened. “Why?”

“Because I need information. Did any demons recognize you?” 

Sam looked down at the ground. “Yes. One was fighting Bobby and I got her attention. The blonde one. I killed her, though.”

Ace looked impressed. “You killed Robin? On your own?”

Sam nodded. 

“Well, I’m impressed. She was one of the Enemy’s top generals. We’ve been trying to kill her for months.”

Sam thought about that. She was somewhat hard to fight, but not as difficult as demons he had faced in the past. He wondered just how trained these people were against fighting demons. 

Ace continued, cutting Sam from his thoughts. “Anyone else recognize you?”

“I honestly don’t know. She was the only one to say anything to me. I don’t believe so, but it is something I’ve been wondering since the fight ended.”

Ace nodded, “Okay. Well, we’re preparing for a bigger battle at this point. If any of them recognized you and told the Enemy, he’s going to come after you. And kill all of us along the way. The Leader and some of our best men and women are coming to join us. We’re no longer a search team anymore. We’re a battle group.”

Sam was trying to think through what this man was saying once again. He swore he couldn’t just have an easy conversation with him. 

“So, Dean’s on his way?”

“Yes. We’re going to start advancing. We’re really not ready to take on the Enemy, but he has insisted that we start making some serious moves.”

Sam felt equally relieved and nervous at the fact Dean was coming. Relieved because, even if it wasn’t really his brother, the idea made him feel a little better. But, also nervous because this Dean still didn’t trust him. 

“Okay.”

Ace was about to turn and leave but stopped himself. “I just have to say something real quick. From the moment I heard about you, I believed you to be a cold-hearted killer and monster like your counterpart here. However, after your display of true, raw emotions over that woman, I saw a human. A good man who was upset over the life of another. You are an interesting specimen in this world, Sam. I just felt you needed to know that.”

He then turned and started to walk away. Sam yelled, asking a question before he was completely gone because he just had to know one thing. He had a lot to process just from that conversation alone, but needed this information. 

“How many were killed?”

Ace stopped for a second and yelled back, “Nine.” He then walked away until he disappeared from Sam’s sight.

Nine people were killed out of the group of twenty. That means only eleven survived, including Sam. 

So many innocent people dead, and it was this evil Sam’s fault. Sam made a promise to himself right then and there.

He would stop him, no matter what.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam was lying on a patch of grass, staring up at a dark, blank sky. There were no stars that could be seen. Instead of the brisk, cool air he had expected for Kansas weather, it was stale and hot. The sweat covering his body made him feel disgusting.

It had been a few hours since the battle against the demons. Once Sam had wandered over to those that were hurt, they had already been dealt with. They thankfully had a small medical kit that was brought by Ace, which was used to help a young man who got stabbed in the side by a demon. He was barely alive, but still holding on.

After the entire commotion, Sam didn’t speak to anyone. He just stood there and helped wrap Rufus’s shoulder that he had popped back in place. Soon, it was late and Ace had told everyone to try to get some sleep. They didn’t have anything with them to sleep on, so everyone had spread out in an open, grassy area surrounded by trees near the town they fought in. It was about a mile east of it. 

Sam tried to sleep, but felt so restless even though his body was exhausted. His mind wouldn’t settle down as his thoughts raced through the memories of the past few days. He kept wondering if this was all actually a dream still. But then he would remember his breakdown from earlier, still feeling the heat from the fire and smell of burning flesh. That’s when he would remember this terrible nightmare was real. 

His mind also kept thinking about his Dean, Cas, and Jack. He wondered how they were doing, and if they were looking for him. Sam wanted to slap himself in the face because of course they would be looking for him. Dean wouldn’t stop until he found him, he knew that for sure. He truly missed his family. 

He also couldn’t help but think about what made this world different from his own. Sure, he had been on a dark, evil path in his life back when he was drinking demon blood. He remembered he had done it to stop Lilith. To stop the apocalypse from happening. Of course, that ended horribly as he indeed opened Lucifer’s cage by killing Lilith. 

Yet, he also remembered the power he had. How strong he felt. It made him feel good. He hated to admit it to himself, but he also drank that blood to get that feeling. It was literally like he was addicted similar to those who had drug or alcohol addictions. 

He tried to think back to what stopped him from going over the edge. What stopped him from becoming evil and destroying the world, like this version of him had done?

The only thing he could think of was Dean. His Dean continued to tell him it was wrong. While Dean could have done better by not calling him a monster and everything, which his brother admitted to, as well, he still stood by Sam in the end. He never fully gave up on him. 

That’s how Dean has always been. When Sam was soulless, Dean got his soul back. When Sam was overrun by hallucinations of Lucifer, Dean found Cas who saved him. When Sam was about to die to slam the gates of hell, Dean talked him off the edge. When Sam felt unworthy, Dean reminded him how awesome he was. When Sam felt like he didn’t deserve to live, Dean would quickly list all of the ways Sam was needed, including why he needed him.

When everything seemed hopeless, Sam knew he could always rely on his brother. 

So what exactly happened between these two brothers? 

Sam tried to think through this version of Dean’s story he told when Sam first met him, but there were a few holes in it. Plus, he didn’t know this Sam’s version of events.

Maybe things could be different here if only this Sam and Dean acted like actual brothers.

“You can’t sleep either?”

Sam looked over to his right and saw Bobby leaning up against a tree, eyes open and staring at him. 

“No. Not tonight.”

Bobby looked down and huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I rarely sleep anymore. Get maybe a couple hours and the nightmares start. Then, sleep is completely outta the question.”

Sam sat up and looked down at his legs, which were still stretched out in front of him. “Yeah, I get that.”

Bobby motioned his hand towards himself, indicating for Sam to come closer. The Winchester brother stood up and quietly walked over the older man. He sat beside him, leaning against the tree, as well.

“Rufus told you, didn’t he?”

Sam started to fiddle with his hands. His nervous tick overcoming him for the conversation that was sure to come. “Told me what?”

“Told you about Ellen and Jo.”

Sam sighed and replied, “Yeah, he did.”

Bobby had his legs stretched out in front of him and reached his hands out towards his knees, slowly massaging them. “Do you have a version of them in your world?”

Sam could feel the tears starting to well up in his eyes. He couldn’t help but feel the pain of losing two people who didn’t deserve to die all because of the ‘Winchester curse,’ as he called it. The curse of knowing the Winchester’s and having a short lifespan because of that reason.

“We did. Ellen’s husband was a friend of our dad’s. But he died on a hunt, and we met them after our dad died later in life. They became our allies and basically family to my Dean, Bobby, and me. We loved them.”

“You’re speaking of ‘em in past tense, so I’m guessin’ their dead, then.”

Sam felt one of his tears slip from his eyes and roll down his cheek. “Yeah. Died about ten years ago trying to help us stop Lucifer and the apocalypse in our universe. Jo was attacked by a hellhound and was bleeding out. Ellen decided to stay with Jo, and they wanted to blow up the building we were hiding out in to kill the hounds. They sacrificed themselves for us.”

He could hear Bobby sniffle a little, knowing the hunter was probably shedding some of his own tears. 

“I want to say I’m sorry to ya.”

Sam turned his head to look at Bobby. He wasn’t sure if he heard him right. “What?”

Bobby took a deep breath in. “Look, kid, I’m sorry. I have treated you like crap since you got here. You just look and sound exactly like him. Like our Sam that screwed the world and killed my Ellen and Jo. I’ve been taking out my anger and grief on you, and that’s not fair. You’ve shown how you are different than him in many ways. And it’s not okay to hold what he has done against you. I’m just sorry, Sam.”

The rest of the tears that were once in Sam’s eyes were now flowing down his cheeks. This wasn’t his Bobby, but he couldn’t help but feel emotional. He missed their Bobby so damn much. 

“It’s okay, Bobby. I forgive you. And I understand.”

Bobby was looking over at Sam and had a tear slip out, quickly wiping it away with his hand. “Ugh, you got me crying like a freaking baby, ya idjit.”

Sam couldn’t help but feel a genuine smile fall on his lips. He had missed the familiar nickname their surrogate father had given him and Dean. 

“Well, I’ll let you try to fall asleep again. Go on back to your patch of grass and let me have my super comfortable-and-not-at-all-painful tree.”

Sam chuckled and nodded his head, standing up to walk back over to where he was lying earlier. He sat down and glanced back over to the tree to see Bobby’s eyes closed, but a small smile was on his lips. 

Sam wished he could take his pain away, along with the pain most of this world felt. He hated to see those he cared about in his own world suffer here. He just needed to figure out what to do to stop this Sam. 

But he would think about it in the morning. 

He laid back down and turned on his side, hoping it would be more comfortable for him on the hard ground. He slowly closed his eyes, dreams of him and Dean arguing over the television while Bobby laughed hysterically overtook his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bright light is what woke Sam up from his sleep. The sun was starting to rise. He yawned and sat up slowly. His back slightly hurt from the dense ground, but overall, he was okay. He was thankful to have slept at all with no nightmares. 

He stretched his arms out above his head. Then, he rose to his feet. The air seemed to have cooled off slightly compared to the unbearable heat he had felt since he arrived in this world. 

After another long yawn, he looked around him. He saw no one. He looked toward the tree where Bobby last was. Nothing. 

Confusion settled in because where the hell did everyone go?

“Over here, Sam.”

Sam turned the opposite way to see Ace standing beside another tree. “We’re over here. Decided to let you get your beauty sleep.”

Sam rolled his eyes, walking towards Ace. Once he reached him, he followed the tough leader past more and more trees. Several feet away from where they slept was a new camp set-up. There were more people that arrived who were all attending to those who were injured from the fight. He didn’t see the young guy who had been stabbed. He must not have made it through the night.

He looked around for Bobby and Rufus, but Ace abruptly stopped, causing Sam to run straight into him. 

“Watch where you’re going. Now, be a good little soldier and do as I say. Wait here.”

Ace stared cold and hard at Sam, showing he meant what he said. Sam nodded and Ace left. Sam continued to look around when he noticed Castiel talking to some people. He was about to yell for the angel when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

Sam turned to see Ace again. “Follow me.”

He didn’t have time to answer before Ace started walking off. Sam followed, curious as to what this was all about. He continued to try to ask where they were heading, but Ace ignored him. They kept walking deeper into the forest, causing Sam to feel a little uneasy. 

Ace stopped again and pointed to some trees in front of them. “Go on over. They’re waiting for you.”

Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and asked, “Who?”

Ace responded by pointing again to the same area. Sam started in the direction his group leader indicated he walk. He passed the trees and saw another clearing similar to the one they had slept in, except this one was full of people and what looked like stations. There were weapons upon weapons everywhere. Guns, knives, swords. He even swore he saw a grenade launcher like the one his Dean fawned over.

“Sam.”

Sam turned his head to find the face that matched the voice. He soon made eye contact with other Dean. He walked towards him.

“Hey Dean. Ace told me you would be coming here.”

Dean motioned for him to move to a corner of the bustle happening. Once they were in a more private and quieter area, Dean responded with, “Yes. Things are getting worse. It’s time we make our move instead of playing defense.”

Sam nodded, unsure of what that meant exactly. He saw what those demons were capable of, and how these people responded. They lost so many in this past fight, so how would they stand against even stronger ones?

Dean pulled Sam out of his head. “Listen, I want you and I to go for a walk real quick. I have some questions for you, and I need to not have everyone listening in.”

Sam felt nerves build in his stomach. He wished he could feel comfortable enough to be by himself with this Dean like how he felt with his own, but he just didn’t. This version of his brother still didn’t trust him. But, Sam felt this might be important, replying with a simple “okay.”

Dean nodded and grabbed Sam’s arm, pulling him through the pools of people. Many of them gave him looks of anger and disgust, but also some were confused and curious. 

He was pulled away from the tons of people into more of the forest. He continued to let Dean lead him until they finally reached a road, or what was left of one. Dean let go of him and fixed his black denim jacket. He was still sporting an all-black attire.

“Where are we?”

Dean pointed toward the stretch of road to the left of them. “We’re a few miles away from the town where you all were attacked. Figured this would be secluded enough to talk.”

Sam looked down at the ground and kicked a small pebble near his foot. He wished he knew what to say to this Dean, but he didn’t. The same brotherly connection his Dean had with him was nowhere to be found with the one standing in front of him. 

“Sam, Ace told me what happened yesterday. You saved my people. And he told me about your outburst.”

Sam wasn’t sure where he was getting at. “Yeah, that happened. And?”

“And it showed a lot of our people that you’re different from the Enemy. Some of them trust you more, or at least, don’t want to kill you 24/7.”

Sam tilted his head a little to get a better look at Dean’s face. His features were so worn and tired, even more than his own version’s. “Do you trust me?”

Dean sighed. “I don’t know. I’m not going to try to kill you if that’s what you’re afraid of. But, I think you’re important here. If the Enemy get ahold of you, it would be bad news not only for yourself, but for us and even your world.”

Sam felt his heart sink at the mention of his world in danger. “What do you mean, Dean?”

“That’s why I brought you out here. I have a few crucial questions for you. I need you to be honest with me. Your world is different than ours, meaning what you and your Dean have been through is different.”

“Okay, what do you need to know.”

Dean walked away from Sam, facing the other side of the road. “You mentioned when we first met you had last had demon blood when Famine forced you to. How long ago for you was that?”

Sam felt uncomfortable talking about his dark past like this, but answered anyway. “About ten years ago. It was when we were fighting our apocalypse and he made me crave it.”

“How long did you drink the stuff?”

“About a year. After I killed Lilith and freed Lucifer, it was like I was cleaned of it for a bit until the whole Famine thing happened.”

Dean turned around to face Sam again and started walking towards him. “If demon blood was presented to you, would you give in and drink it again?”

Sam was caught off-guard by the question. “I-I wouldn’t willingly drink it.”

“Do you still have your powers?”

Sam knew the answer to that one off the top of his head. “No. They haven’t shown back up in years since I quit the blood.”

Dean ran his hands over his face and through his hair. He appeared worried and frustrated. Sam spoke up, saying, “What is this all about, dude?”

“If the Enemy captures you, I believe he will try to turn you evil like him so you both can rule together. When he discovers you’re from another universe, I guarantee he will want to take over it like he has this one.”

Sam shook his head incredulously. “Make me evil?”

Dean looked Sam straight in the eye. “Make you drink demon blood. Try to turn you into him.”

Sam’s head started spinning out of control. He couldn’t drink that stuff. Not again. He would die before he ingested it again. 

“That won’t happen.”

Dean laughed an emotionless laugh. “Okay, sure.”

Sam made himself move to stand in front of Dean. “I’m serious. I won’t do it. I’ll fight tooth and nail before I drink that damn stuff.”

Dean shook his head. “I think it would be better if we find a way to send you back to your universe.”

Sam raised his voice then. “No! No, I can’t just abandon this world. Not after all I’ve seen. Not after watching that girl burn alive and saw defenseless people murdered. Especially not when a version of myself is causing all of this.”

Dean threw his hands in the air in agitation. “Ugh you’re as stubborn as he was! You do as I say! This will end bad if you stay here. If he gets to you, our world is gone.”

“No, Dean, because I won’t give in! You keep forgetting that I’m not him!”

Dean immediately got nose-to-nose with Sam. “We’re done. Go back and wait. We’re going to have some of my team figure out a way to get you back. That’s it. No more arguing.”

Dean turned, walking away. Sam started yelling, “We are NOT done! You don’t get to boss me around! I’ve been nodding my head and playing the role of a ‘good soldier’ but I’m not a soldier! I’m a hunter! That’s my job.”

Dean spun on his toes at Sam’s outburst, raising his voice, as well. “Oh yeah? So, you gonna go kill him then? Kill that evil sonofabitch?!” 

Sam started flailing his arms around in anger. “I want to talk to him first! Maybe he would listen to himself!”

Dean was fuming at this point. “Oh yeah, sure go talk to the psycho who blew the world to hell. He’s a monster!”

“I used to think the same thing about myself! But, I wasn’t a monster! Hell yeah, I screwed crap up, but I worked to make it better. I had people in my life who helped me through it, too. People who didn’t give up on me!”

Dean rolled his eyes. “There’s no saving him. He’s long gone.”

“So, what? You’re just going to kill your brother? That’s it?”

“YES! Because he’s not my brother anymore! He killed people who were our FRIENDS! Our FAMILY! He’s obliterated the world! He won’t listen to reason, so why try?”

Sam stood there frozen, Chuck’s words ringing through his ears. ‘One brother killing the other.’ His perfect, beautiful ending. 

Once Sam was able to get out of his own head, he realized Dean was gone. He must have stalked off. 

He slid his hands down his face roughly, moving to sit on the concrete road below him. He wanted to scream. Why wouldn’t this Dean just listen to him for one second?!

Suddenly, movement caught Sam’s eyes near the trees. He whipped his head around to see Jett’ friend Jacob emerge from the forest with his hands behind his back, appearing timid. “Hi Sam.”

Sam took a deep breath, heart pounding in his chest. “Dammit Jacob. You scared the crap out of me.”

Jacob started moving over to Sam. “Sorry. I just heard yelling coming from over here and just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Jett was busy helping take stock of weapons.”

Sam ran his hands through his hair, replying, “Right. I’m okay. Just needed a second.”

Jacob was standing over Sam. “Of course. I just wanted to say that I’m not freaked over you anymore. In fact, I feel like you won’t put up a fight at all.”

Sam stopped moving, reeling over Jacob’s choice of words. Put up a fight?

He started to look upwards. “What do you mean put up a fi-”

Sam couldn’t finish his sentence because Jacob whipped his arms from behind his back, revealing a baseball bat. Sam didn’t have time to react before he felt a sharp pain in the side of his head. Then, he saw darkness.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam woke up with his head pounding. He was trying to remember what had happened. He opened his eyes and realized he didn’t recognize where he was. 

That was when the memory of Jacob standing with a baseball bat came slamming into Sam. He realized he was in a burned down building. Everything was covered in ashes. There were still walls up and some form of covering like a roof overhead. He yelled, “Jacob!”

He didn’t hear anything in return. “Jacob! Where the hell are you!”

“Hello Sam.”

Sam recognized that voice. Knew it better than any voice other than Dean’s.

Because he heard it every day. 

Coming from his own lips.

Crap.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little shorter! It has been a very busy week for me! But, there is still a lot to come! Thank you all again for the kudos and comments for this story! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Sam?”

He didn’t know what to do. Was it better to respond, or keep quiet and defiant? He chose to not- say anything and put on one of his infamous bitchfaces. He still couldn’t see Other Him, as he now dubbed his alternate version.

“Sam, come on. It’s me. Or you. Or whatever you wanna call it.”

Sam was trying to analyze his predicament. He realized his hands were bound behind his back with handcuffs, making it where he could no longer use his arms. He didn’t have anything on him to pick the lock. He tried to see if there was a loose nail or something he could use instead, but unfortunately, he couldn’t be that lucky. 

He was sitting in the middle of the run-down room. There was one doorway in front of him, and that was all he could see. He turned his head around and found no other exit in the room other than that one. Great, who needs an easy escape anyway?

Suddenly, movement at the doorway caught his eye. He saw a man who looked almost exactly like him, except this man’s hair was shorter. Almost the same length as Dean’s. And he was wearing an all-black suit, completely different from Sam’s normal attire of flannels and denim. But what made Sam truly realize he was different from the reflection that he would see in a mirror was this man’s eyes. They were still hazel, like his own, but there was something off about them. 

Something truly dark.

He had a smile on his face, but not one of greeting. It was menacing. It made shivers run down Sam’s spine. Oh, how he wished this was all a nightmare.

Other Him walked into the room, slowly. He had his arms behind his back, and his posture was immaculate. These little details wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone else, but to Sam, it was like they were plastered on a billboard. 

His alternate self walked closer to him, making direct eye contact. “Sam, are you really not going to say anything? I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Sam took in a deep breath. “What do you want me to say?”

Other Him’s smile turned from menacing to amused. “I figured you would want answers. I’m guessing you do, but are trying to put on a brave face. I mean, that’s what I would’ve done back in the day.”

Sam clenched his jaw. This guy was toying with him. Fine, Sam could play hard-ball, too. 

“You’re right. I want answers. Why keep drinking demon blood? Why destroy this world? Why turn into a monster!?”

Other Him’s smile completely disappeared. It was replaced with a scowl and his eyes were full of anger. “I see you’re not ready yet. You’ll go to a holding room until you’ve calmed down some. My Queen! 1st Lieutenant!”

Sam looked back at the doorway as two faces he recognized walked in. One was Ruby, the demon who tricked him into drinking demon blood and killing Lilith. She walked over to Other Him and leaned up against his chest. She pulled his head down for a long kiss. Honestly, it was horribly awkward and uncomfortable to watch himself kissing anyone, let alone the bitch that manipulated him. 

The other demon took him a few seconds to recognize. She was falling a little behind Ruby, standing to the side of the two. Quickly, Sam’s memories came crashing into him as he remembered her. Bela. Bela Talbot. 

She was a thief who stole occult objects and sold them to the highest bidder. She died right before Dean went to hell, having made a crossroads deal and her contract being up. Sam guessed this Bela must have had a similar fate since she was a demon here, her soul having twisted into this horrible entity. 

“Bela? Ruby? I feel like this is the worst trip down memory lane ever.”

Other Him pulled away from Ruby, eyeing Sam again. “Lieutenant, take him to a holding room. Make sure our guards keep careful eyes on him.”

Bela nodded her head, replying, “Yes, sir.” She then walked over to Sam, grabbing him harshly under his arm. She yanked him hard enough, Sam swore he would have an awful bruise there in the morning, if he lived that long. She started pulling him out of the door and down a hallway. It had just as much fire damage as the room he was just in. 

“Bela, please. We had a version of you in my world, and we were somewhat allies. Please, let me go.”

She didn’t say a word, just kept pulling him until they reached a door. She opened it and threw him in there, causing Sam to fall on his stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. After a few seconds of trying to catch his breath again, he yelled, “Bela! Please!”

He was able to flip himself over on his back to see her. She held the door open with one of her hands, frustration was written all over her. “No. I am not the same Bela as yours. I listen only to the Boy King, not you. A pathetic excuse to hold the same name as him.” Then, she slammed the door.

Sam tried to get onto his feet, but soon realized just how difficult a feat that was with his hands bound and body aching. He still pushed through the pain to slowly get to stand. He walked over to the door, turning around to see if he could open it with his bound hands. After one attempting at twisting the knob, he understood it was locked. Of course it was.

He then backed up some and ran full force toward the door, hoping to break it down. It was old and raggedy, so it should easily come off. At least, that was what Sam thought until he smacked straight into it and bounced back. The door didn’t even shake a little bit. 

Sam fell back down to the ground. Must be magic, he thought to himself. 

Once he finally calmed down, he started to feel the annoying pain in his head. A baseball bat to the head will do that to you. If he could move his hands to touch his head, he was sure he would feel a bump.

What the hell was he going to do now? He wouldn’t drink demon blood, he knew that for sure. But, he was nervous. He wondered how much of himself this Sam knew about. His fears? His dark thoughts about himself? His weaknesses?

He had to know almost everything about him. This other version would eventually find a way to make him give in. 

Sam wished for his Dean. He would know what to do. Protecting his little brother was his number one priority. But, these versions of the people he once knew in his universe were different here. They didn’t care enough about him to actually save him. They would probably rather let him die if it meant their world was safe. 

He was alone. And he would have to figure it out on his own.

And Sam Winchester wasn’t going down without a fight.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise. He looked towards the door and notice there was a small window with a covering to keep from seeing outside. The rustling turned into a clanging as the covering disappeared from his view. He was staring into two eyes he almost recognized, but he didn’t know where. 

He heard only two words from the man behind the door. Two words that sent him back a few years earlier in his universe from an unlikely ally to himself, along with Dean and Castiel. Two words he hadn’t heard in a long time.

“’Ello, Moose.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Crowley?”

The demon’s eyes turned red for a second before returning back to their original brown color. He heard some shuffling from behind the door.

“Yes. It’s little ‘ole me. You’re from a different universe, right?”

Sam was curious at how this version of Crowley was different from his own. They sounded the same, and they both even had the same nickname for him. 

“Yes. We had a version of Crowley in our world. He was the King of Hell.”

There was silence for a few seconds. Sam tried to adjust his position because having your hands bound behind your back can be pretty uncomfortable. Finally, Crowley spoke again.

“King of Hell, huh? Wow. That sounds mighty big and important. Better than the official royal title of ‘servant.’ Was he a good king?”

This Crowley was more-than-likely a servant to this version of himself. He sounded so depressed and tired. 

“Um, I mean, I guess kinda. As hunters, we had to fight him many of times since he was a demon who ruled Hell. But, many times, he was a great ally to us, Dean and I. He died a hero.”

“He’s dead?”

Sam could see Crowley looking down toward the ground. He appeared sad and shocked at the same time. 

“Uh, yeah. He sacrificed himself to save us. To save the world.”

Another beat of silence. The demon didn’t act like their Crowley, from what Sam could see. He seemed timid and nervous. Different from the arrogant, defensive, and powerful Crowley that he knew. 

Sam decided to speak again. “Crowley, listen. I need to get out of here. This version of myself will use me to do more harm. I need to get back to my world. And I want to help save this one before I go. I can get you free. Please, Crowley, you gotta-”

Crowley interrupted, saying, “No! I cannot disobey my Master. The Boy King will not just kill me if I did. He would destroy me, making sure I suffer in agony before I am gone. I-I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Sam could hear the metal rustling from the window cover. “No! Crowley! Wait, wait! PLEASE!”

A loud slam echoed throughout the room from the cover returning to its place. Sam sighed and scooted himself over to a wall to lean against. Dammit, he thought. 

Now he was stuck sitting in this room. He was trying to think of a plan to get out of this. How to get away from this evil version of himself. But he was really in a bind. 

Without someone to help aid him in his escape, he didn’t see how he would ever leave. There were demons everywhere. There had to be since their “king” was here. If he tried to run and gun it, he would either be re-captured or killed. Neither options were ideal.

Sam had a thought cross his mind. A possible way to get out of this room. He had no clue if it would work, but he decided to give it a shot.

He would pray to Cas. Hopefully it would work.

"Castiel, I hope you can hear me. I-uh, I am in a lot of trouble right now. The, um, Enemy has me. I don’t know where I am. It’s a burned-down building, maybe a house? I know that’s not a lot to go on, especially since most buildings here are demolished. But, that’s all I got. Also, you need to know this. I don’t know if he went back to you guys, but Jacob isn’t on your side. He’s the one who knocked me out and, I guess, brought me here. He’s working with this version of me. Be careful. Um, and please, help me. I’m not going to give in, but I’m nervous. I’ll stay strong for as long as I can, but I may need some help getting out of here. Please, Cas. I hope you can hear me."

Sam waited a few minutes, hoping Cas would be able to locate him somehow. Maybe home in on him. But nothing happened. He was still trapped in the little room. Alone.

He wanted to scream. To yell at the top of his lungs till he couldn’t anymore. Why did this have to happen to him? Could he ever catch a break? The hits just keep coming and coming with no respite. 

Suddenly, a loud noise startled him out of his thoughts. He realized it was the lock turning. His heart started beating faster. Cas heard his prayer! He was rescued!

However, when the door opened, there was no angel standing there. It was Bela again. She had a smug, annoyed look on her face.

“He wants to see you again. How about lighten up on the attitude, huh? You don’t want to make him angry. Or worse, make me angry.”

She started moving towards Sam. He somehow managed to shakily get to a standing position. “No. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

She smiled and said, “Oh, I wasn’t asking.” She then slammed her fist into Sam’s stomach, making him curl forward in pain. She grabbed him by his arm and yanked him out of the room. 

“What you don’t know is I am the number one torturer in Hell. Why do you think I was appointed as the Boy King’s First Lieutenant? Sometimes you need someone else to handle the dirty work. So, I suggest cooperating with me.”

Sam was trying to catch his breath. She was much stronger than she looked. Her one punch was hard enough to knock the air out of him. He almost fought back, but then decided against it. Fighting Bela would get him nowhere. If he was on his own, then he would have to go up against the boss. 

His other self.

She led him down a different hallway to another empty room. She threw him to the floor, laughing as she did so, and left, slamming the door to the room behind her. 

Sam groaned. When he lifted his head, he was met with hazel eyes staring back at him. 

“Hello again.”

Sam took a deep breath in. Here we go.

“Hi,” Sam deadpanned. He was over all of this crap. 

Other Him was still in his black suit. His eyebrows were raised in amusement. “Well, I see the attitude is still there.”

Sam cocked his head to the side. “You kidnapped me. Of course I have an attitude. I don’t want to be here.”

Other Him chuckled slightly. It made Sam shutter at how similar it was to his own. It just didn’t seem right. 

“That is true. But, this was the only way you would see me. After all, you were with him.” 

Sam noticed when he said the word “him,” it was said with a lot of disgust. But, it also had a hint of sadness. His alternate version continued, “They were feeding you lies. I think it’s only right that you hear the truth.”

This time, it was Sam’s turn to raise his eyebrows, but in disbelief. “Oh, really?”

Other Him nodded his head. “Yes. I’m sure they made me out to be the ‘monster.’ But really, I’m not. They are the ones who turned me into one.”

Sam was shaking his head. “I’ve seen what you’ve done to this world. I saw your demons kill innocent lives on YOUR orders. Tell me how THEY have turned YOU into a monster.”

He smiled at Sam, sending shivers down his spine. It was creepy enough to see another version of himself in general, let alone one that was this dark and twisted. 

“I’ll tell you then. My version of the story, anyway. You see, before I became the Boy King, I was just like you. I hunted with my brother and that angel. We were a family. Or, at least we were, until Lucifer broke free of The Cage. I was devastated when it happened. Felt it was my fault since I accidentally broke him out the first time. We were all so angry and confused because that was supposed to be the end of him. And then, Jack happened. He was the best, in all honesty. When Lucifer killed him, it felt like my heart was ripped out. On top of it all, Jack was supposed to end him. I felt completely and utterly hopeless.

“But, I had an idea. If I drank the demon blood again, I could become powerful enough to maybe stop him. It scared the hell out of me, honestly. But, it seemed like the only option we had left. I tried to tell Dean, but he was so damn drunk all of the time. Drinking away the pain and problems. He blew me off and put ALL of the blame on me. Lucifer breaking out. His pain. Jack’s death. All of it was my fault. I had enough of it, and that pushed me to follow through with my plan. If Dean wasn’t going to do anything, or even listen to me, then I would do it on my own.

“Lucifer was sending demons to kill me, so it made it easy to start drinking the blood again. I remember when I took that first sip, it was actually horrible. It tasted disgusting, and I wanted to vomit everywhere. However, the more I drank, the better it got. I was able to get it down easily after the fifth demon. I also remember feeling when my powers came back. It was like adrenaline was pumping through my veins. Demon after demon would show up. Some I would kill to drink their blood, and some I used my powers on. I was getting stronger and stronger. I was so focused on my mission, though. My goal was to get strong enough to kill him, which I knew would take a long time.

“I wanted to tell Dean the entire time, but was nervous about how he would react. He called me terrible things the last time, and I didn’t want to deal with that again. So, I kept it a secret. Any demons after him, I stopped. I kept him and Castiel safe while also getting more prepared to take on Lucifer. About five months later, I finally felt like I was ready. It was good timing, too, because he was ready to take over the world. That’s when I decided to tell Dean. I thought he would at least hear me out, but he shut me down completely. He called me a monster and basically disowned me. He said that if I ever showed my ‘blood-sucking freaky face’ around him again, then he would kill me. Kill me?!? I was his brother! So, I left.

“I went after the Devil. Wasn’t hard, honestly. He was waiting in his favorite spot: Detroit. I remember when I arrived, the power inside of me was pulsating. I felt invincible. There were no demons ready to attack, meaning he was expecting me. He was just as arrogant and a dickbag as he had always been. I just wanted to knock that smirk off his face. He didn’t believe I had the power to end him. If his own son, who was one of the most powerful beings on the planet, couldn’t stop him, then how could I, a pathetic, useless human, do it. My blood was boiling the more he spoke.

“I remember sticking my hand out in front of myself, like I had done on many other occasions when sending demons to hell or killing them. Except, this time, the power was stronger. It felt like my body was vibrating with energy. I closed my eyes and started focusing on killing him. It wasn’t too hard, actually. I realized right then that I needed to give in to the darkness to stop him, so I did. Then, it was as easy as breaking a stick. I will never forget his screams of pain and agony. Oh, they were like music to my ears. I had to open my eyes to see, and he was bleeding profusely from different areas on his body. His grace was violently flickering in and out, proving he was dying. I kept holding on until his grace turned so bright, most people would have gone blind. But, not me. I could see straight through the blast to him, his true form. And then, he fell down, lifeless. His broken, ragged wings burned into the ground. 

“I felt like I had won the lottery! He was dead! Finally dead! Just when I was about to start celebrating, I heard him. Dean. He had come to find me, trying to apologize for what he had said earlier. But the look on his face was one of revulsion. It was directed at me, his own brother. He told me what I had done was wrong. WRONG?!? I KILLED THE DEVIL! Should he not be celebrating with me rather than upset! I did what he never could! He then called me IT again. A monster. He said that I had gone ‘too far.’ That was when I had finally had enough. If he wanted a monster, then he would get one. I let the darkness come back in, and it was like sweet release. I felt so powerful. I released my fury on him and Castiel, who couldn’t even look me in the eye. Like I was beneath him, a fallen angel! Just as I was really about to get started on them, Lucifer’s demons showed up. Guess they realized their boss was dead. Dean and Castiel got away, and I forced the demons to bow to me.”

Other Him stopped speaking then, waiting for Sam to react. But, he had nothing to say. While he was still repulsed by the being in front of him sharing the same name as him, he couldn’t help but notice certain details of his story, such as Dean not listening to him and jumping to conclusions. His Dean and himself had the same problems when it came to the demon blood. Sam felt pushed away, so he continued to distance himself from his brother. He understood that. But, he would never turn evil. Even from that. 

Sam spoke up, saying, “What about destroying this world? Why do that?”

Other Him started pacing in front of him. “I had enough of this world. I realized it would be better if it started over, with me as the ruler. So, I wiped the slate clean, or as clean as possible.”

Sam started furiously shaking his head, anger rising inside of himself. “You sound just like Lucifer, then! You want to rule the world?!? Alright, cool, well let’s just murder innocent civilians and destroy the ecosystem first! And then, you killed your friends! People who were like family to you! Jody?!? Garth?!? Even Eileen?!? How can you think this is okay?!?”

Other Him stopped dead in his tracks at Sam’s outburst. First, his emotions turned to anger, but then that irritating smirk made a reappearance. “Oh, Sammy. You see, when you just let go and embrace that dark, evil side inside of yourself, you would be shocked at how amazing it feels. You feel so powerful, like a god. No big brother to boss you around. No one would dare talk down to you again. You would finally receive the respect you deserve.”

The tears were starting to well up in his eyes, yet again. He hated crying, absolutely hated it. But seeing this version of himself become this horrible being made him feel sick to his stomach. “No. I will never, EVER, be like you. You’re wrong.”

Other Him started laughing slightly. It was disturbing how calm he was, even as Sam defied him completely. He was more amused at Sam than angry. “You say that now, but let’s just get some demon blood in you and see how you feel.”

Sam’s face paled, he knew it had to. He felt the pit in his stomach drop. No. No way was he putting that poison back in his system. 

“No! I don’t want that stuff!”

His alternate version started walking around him in circles, causing his words to ring throughout Sam’s head. “Oh, come on. I know you secretly like it. You have to. It’s like a drug to us. An addiction we can’t resist. You have to miss that power you had. That feeling of being so strong. That amazing high. Just one sip, and it’ll be back.”

It was like Sam was put into a trance with his words. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was kind of right. Sam sometimes missed that feeling, that high. But, then he would snap back and remember that was his addiction talking, and not himself. He hated that he let himself drink that horrible stuff the first time. It was one of his biggest regrets in life. He snapped back in his head and simply spat out, “No.”

Other Him rolled his eyes. “Look’s like I’ll just make you have to drink it. Trust me, once we get it back in your system, you won’t be saying no any longer. With you by my side, then we can control this world together, and maybe even your own.”

He then turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Sam then heard the metal turning, which had to be a lock.

He immediately got to his feet, and started running full speed at the door, hoping to bust it down. But as his body slammed into it, he bounced back, similar to the door in the holding room. He then stepped closer to the door again and kicked it. Didn’t even budge.

Crap. 

Crap. Crap. CRAP!

What the HELL was he supposed to do now?!?

He couldn’t break his sobriety. There would be no coming back this time. Not with this darker influence standing over his shoulder. Not without his Dean there to help reel him back in. 

The tears started falling. He couldn’t keep them in any longer. He felt so defeated. This was it. This was when he finally would lose himself and become the monster he always feared he was. 

The metal sound returned to the door. Sam prepared himself for the fight of his life. He wasn’t going to take it easy on him. He was going to fight till the very end. 

As the door opened, no one entered for a few seconds. It caught Sam off-guard. Then, a head appeared around the corner. 

Crowley.

“Crow-”

“SHH!” The demon hushed him. Crowley entered the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He moved closer to Sam.

“Listen, I stood by the door while you and him were talking. I have never heard anyone tell him no, ever. You just might be the key to stopping him. I’ll help free you.”

Sam’s eyes were opened so wide, he thought they might pop out. This was very different from the Crowley who looked at him through a peephole earlier. He still seemed scared, but more focused. Like he had a mission.

“Seriously?”

He kept looking around. Sam figured he was trying to listen for footsteps. “Yes, seriously. But, the thing is, if I free you, you have to let me come along, too. I’ll be tortured here for letting you go. I ask that you allow me to travel with you. Oh, and also for your protection since I doubt the Resistance would be too keen on a demon walking among them. So, we gotta deal?”

Well, apparently this Crowley was just as big on deals as their own was. He nodded his head. “Yes, but I ain’t sealing it with a damn kiss.” 

Crowley smiled. It was the first time Sam had seen any other emotion from him other than fear. “No kiss. Alright, focus on someone important. Someone who you want to go to right now. That’ll help me navigate us.”

Immediately Sam couldn’t help but think of Dean. His brain first went to his own, but then shifted to the one of this world. “Okay.”

“Okay. Ready?”

As Sam was nodding his head, the door slammed open. The last thing Sam heard before disappearing was his other self screaming “NO!”


	11. Chapter 11

Sam slowly blinked his eyes open. His stomach was rolling and he felt like he might be sick. Dizziness overtook him, making him feel as if the world was spinning beneath himself. 

He darted his eyes around to figure out his location. There were a bunch of tall, oak trees surrounding him, grass beneath his body. He then realized he was lying on the ground. 

He must have been in a forest of some type. While he was unsure of his exact location, Sam took a deep breath realizing he was no longer trapped with his alternate self. He was so close to being forced to drink that horrible substance. He would’ve fought tooth and nail to keep it from entering his system, but he knew he wouldn’t have won. If Crowley hadn’t shown up-

Crowley. Where was he? He got him out of there.

“Crowley? Where are you?”

“Over here, Moose.”

Sam whipped his head to the left, which he quickly realized was a bad idea. His already spinning head did not feel any better from that movement. After a few seconds, he was able to refocus his vision to see the figure standing beside him. 

Crowley was impatiently tapping his foot on the ground. Sam recognized what he was actually wearing finally. He figured he hadn’t been paying attention to such details back with his other self since he was more worried about getting the hell away from there. But, now that he could really see him, Sam noticed he was in a black suit, but not a nice one. More of a run-down, hand-me-down one. It was covered in dirt and other unknown substances. Sam didn’t want to ask about those. 

When Sam made eye contact with the demon, he saw the pure fear on his face. He looked like he might hyperventilate soon if he continued standing there. “You okay, Crowley?”

Crowley started moving at that question, pacing back-and-forth in the same patch of grass. “Am I okay? Of course I’m not bloody okay! What is wrong with me?!? Why in the hell would I help you escape? I’m going to be killed, or worse. I should have just been a good, little servant and-”

Sam cut him off as he was talking himself into a near panic attack. “Stop! It’s too late now. The deeds done. If it’s any consolation, I appreciate your help. You truly saved my life.”

Crowley quickly brought himself to a halt, eyes shifting to Sam’s, staring daggers at him. “Yeah, I saved your life. Woo-hoo, let’s go celebrate. I’ll toast to your continued living and my doomed self.”

Sam shook his head in irritation. This Crowley still had the same sarcastic and annoying nature as their own. “Well, we’re here now. I’m not too keen on being found by my other self either, so how about let’s agree to hold off on celebrations and try to find a way to stop him.”

Crowley rolled his eyes and shook his head incredulously. “Seriously? Listen, I know what I said back in that room, but I was overwhelmed by seeing someone stand up to him. But, there is no way to stop him. You were his PRISONER so how are YOU going to be the one to finally defeat him?”

Sam slowly tried to stand, legs a little wobbly. He caught his balance and stood completely straight, making himself taller and bigger than the demon standing across from him. “Because I am Sam Winchester. I’ve saved my world countless times with my brother and angel. Impossible odds are my specialty.”

Crowley looked taken aback, and even lowered his gaze. Sam meant every word he said. He might not have his Dean and Cas here to help him this time, but he was a Winchester, so he would fight the Winchester way. Till the end.

“Alright. Well, Mr. Hero, let’s get to moving then, shall we?”

Sam nodded firmly. He was set on his mission now. He would save this world. There wasn’t a second thought to it. He felt even more determined now after his confrontation with his alternate self. However, he had a few holes to fill first. And he knew just the person to help fill them in.

“Where’s the Resistance located? Where’s Dean?”

Crowley started walking forward, causing Sam to follow behind him. “They’re only a few miles ahead. I knew if we dropped off right there, he could probably locate us, and then them. Speaking of which-”

He stopped abruptly, making Sam nearly run straight into him. “The hell, Crowley?!?” Suddenly, a hand was placed on his chest. A sharp pain radiated from the touch throughout his upper torso, like a lighting strike was passing through him. He gasped, gritting his teeth as the pain dissipated as quickly as it came. The demon removed his hand, and the pain was completely gone. Sam faltered on his feet, attempting not to fall to his knees. 

“What the actual hell was that?!?”

Crowley turned his back to the Winchester, continuing in his original direction. “Used a spell on you. He won’t be able to track you.”

Sam put his hand to his chest and could feel his heart beating a million beats per minute. That friggin’ hurt like a bitch. 

He then noticed a clearing in the trees, and then a road. Crowley continued past the clearing and moved to the center of the broken, run-down road. “We keep going down it, we’ll reach their camp.”

Sam didn’t respond, just kept walking. He moved to be beside the demon rather than behind, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for any unexpected attacks. He was sure it was the hunter instincts in him that caused him to always do this. Too use to never really being safe. 

As he looked ahead of him, he saw the beautiful orange glow of the sky as the sun was rising. It was mesmerizing. It meant the beginning of a new day. Or, in Sam’s case, the beginning of another journey. He knew he was about to stir up some trouble at the camp. With Dean. He wasn’t going to just be a soldier anymore. This war now involved him. It felt more personal.

Crowley’s next words broke him from his thoughts. “I’m nervous.”

The hunter realized he had never heard such a confession from his own King of Hell. The closest was back at that church when Sam was finishing that last trial, almost turning the demon human. Until Dean came bursting in, convincing him to live rather than die as a martyr. 

“Why are you nervous? I don’t think I’ve ever heard a demon say such a thing.”

He heard a chuckle beside him, effectively causing his head to turn. This Crowley looked so much smaller than his. Looked more fractured and terrified. The sight almost broke Sam’s own heart. 

“I’ve never disobeyed an order. Never. I saw too many demons be horrifically tortured to the brink of insanity, begging for death. You know, I never wanted to be a slave. I always thought I could be brave and strong. But, after seeing what he had done to others who fought against him, I realized I wanted to survive. The only way I could do that was by doing everything he told me to do. I felt humiliated most of the time. Like I was a worthless tool being used. But then, he would get angry. He hurt me many of times, each one more and more severe. I hated it. And I was so scared.”

Sam could hear him sniffling, probably trying to fight off tears. “He would take an angel blade and dig it around in me. In my side, my leg, my arms, anything that wouldn’t outright kill me. I would scream, because it was horrible, unimaginable pain. And he would laugh. Say I needed to be better.”

Silence then filled the air. Sam felt actual sympathy for him. Sure, he was a demon, but hearing how broken and scared he sounded reminded Sam of a wounded child. “I’m sorry.”

“Unfortunately, sorry doesn’t change anything. I left, taking you with me. I will be hunted to the ends of the earth and beyond. If he gets me, then death would be a blessing. Because what he would do to me instead would be so much worse.”

Sam spoke up, voice solid in affirmation. “He won’t. He’ll have to go through me first.”

Crowley jerked his head towards Sam. He could fully see the tears that were streaming down his face. “Why would you help me, a demon? I mean, I’m a friggin’ DEMON! A soul twisted in darkness and evil. I don’t deserve your help or anyone else’s.”

Sam thought about his words for a moment. Most demons were evil and absolutely disgusting. But, there were some that weren’t all evil. Meg, for example. She was the worst during their earlier interactions with her. But, as time moved on, she became a good ally to them. Even sacrificed herself for them. Even their own Crowley was the same. 

Plus, while most monsters were bad, some were genuinely good. Some suffered the same way this Crowley has. On top of it all, Sam couldn’t help but think back to when he believed he was a monster. But, he wasn’t.

It didn’t matter what you were, it only mattered what you did. Sam truly believed that. If he didn’t, he would either be a spitting image of the Sam terrorizing this universe, or still Lucifer’s vessel. But, he made his choice to be good. To save the world rather than let it burn. 

“Trust me when I say this, but what you are doesn’t define you. Your actions, your intentions, are what matter. Your second chance is ahead of you. You choose to help save this world, and you’ll be able to become that vision you have for yourself.”

Sam heard an amused snort to his left. “Well, Mr. Hero, I will say, you have a way with words.”

Sam smirked at the comment. “Dean always said I was the poetic one.”

“You do realize once we get to the Resistance’s camp, they will not be thrilled at all to see me. I’m a demon, still. They’re going to kill me as soon as I step foot into their area.”

Even though Crowley couldn’t see it, Sam was shaking his head. “Not on my watch. I’ll make sure they don’t.” A promise.

After that, the two of them walked in silence. The sun continued to move farther up into the sky as the morning arrived. Clouds still covered any signs of a beautiful blue sky, but that was okay. Sam hoped soon enough he would see them again. 

Hopefully.

“We’re coming in on it. On the right.”

Sam looked that way and still saw a bunch of trees. He figured they had moved into the woods, like the area he was at when he was knocked unconscious by-

Jacob. 

He hadn’t seen him at his alternate self’s lair. In fact, the last time he saw him was when he hit him with the bat. And he wasn’t sure Cas heard his prayer or not that included the warning. 

He’d have to be on his toes in case the traitor was among them still. 

Crowley and himself made their way past the trees, moving forward slowly and carefully. The deeper they got, the quieter it was. It made Sam’s hairs stand up. This wasn’t good. 

They continued quietly until he heard yelling all around him. He felt something slam into his back, causing him to fall forward, effectively knocking the wind out of him. He was trying to gain his bearings, but then felt a painful pressure on his back again, except this one wouldn’t move. He moaned in pain, yelling, “Get off of me!” 

The pressure didn’t ease up any. He tried to look for Crowley, but could barely move his head. He was still having difficult catching his breath again, making fear peak its head over him. He might suffocate like this. He might die.

No! He had to quit thinking like that. Just breathe. Find Crowley. 

“Sam?”

He could only see the black, worn-out boots standing in front of his face, mere inches from his nose. 

“Let him up.”

The pressure on his back disappeared and he felt hands under his arms, hoisting him up. His head was spinning once again, this time because of the lack of oxygen entering his body. He tried to take in deep breaths and calm himself down. When he was able to see straight, he recognized Dean standing there. No emotion whatsoever on his face. 

Then, he heard a whimper to his left. Turning his head, he saw Crowley being held up by two men, his face a bloody mess. They had an angel blade against his throat, threatening him to move. 

“Well, it looks like you got some explaining to do.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a shorter chapter. Life has been kinda crazy right now. But, there will be some big things coming soon!
> 
> Thank you all again for the kudos, comments, and just for reading this story! Enjoy this new chapter! :)

Sam looked towards Crowley again. He looked petrified as the man dragged the blade lightly against his neck. Sam remembered his earlier conversation with the demon. His promise.

“Let him go. He’s not with my alternate self. He saved me.”

Dean took another step forward. Sam wanted to run to Crowley, but the guys were still holding his arms, preventing him from moving. He could potentially fight them off, but Crowley would surely be dead by then. 

Dean spoke up, saying, “A demon saved you? You really expect me to believe that? How do I know you’re not as evil of a monster as The Enemy? I know that’s who you were taken to. You could be brainwashed for all I know.”

Sam felt more frustrated. How could he prove himself to people who already doubted him before? “He was going to hurt me. Going to force me to become like him, but I fought back. Then, Crowley saved me. He risked everything to get me back here. I swear, Dean.”

Dean arched his eyebrow in suspicion. He then glanced over to where Crowley was being held and back to Sam. “Release Sam.”

Sam could feel the two men holding onto him tense up. “Sir, are you-”

“Yes, I’m sure. Don’t you dare disrespect my orders. Now, let him go.”

Sam felt the pressure on his arms disappear, allowing him to freely move about. He leveled his gaze with Dean again. “Let Crowley go, too. He won’t harm anyone here. I’ll make sure of it.”

Dean’s face was solid, no emotion whatsoever to the naked eye. But to Sam, he could see his brother’s gears turning in his head, contemplating the decision. He finally sighed, shaking his head. “Fine. Let the demon go.”

Hesitantly, the men released Crowley, causing him to fall to the ground. He was shaking all over, fear obviously coursing through his veins. 

Dean pointed towards Sam. “This abomination is your responsibility. If something goes wrong, then you’ll be the one paying for it. Got it?”

Sam ran over to help Crowley stand, lending his hand to pull him to his feet. “Yes, I got it.”

Dean didn’t respond, but it was very apparent how aggravated he was over this situation. Sam figured killing any and all demons was his priority. Helping them definitely wasn’t. 

Dean yelled to his men, “Head back to camp. NOW!” They all started on their way, moving past Sam and his brother deeper into the forest. Dean was about to turn to leave when Sam said, “Wait, I need to talk to you. Just us.”

Dean stopped, but didn’t speak. Sam whispered to Crowley, “Why don’t you go chill close to the camp, but not in it. If you need me, find me.”

The demon disappeared, heading to a safe location. At least, that’s what Sam hoped.

“Look, Dean. I know you’re pissed at me. But, we got bigger problems to deal with.”

Dean rolled his eyes, his face red with anger. “Pissed? I’m livid. You brought a demon into my camp. Do you not realize how many demons have killed my people? How many have tortured them?”

Sam understood all too well. He himself had been tortured by demons. They ruined his life. “I get it, man. I really do. I have had my fair share of demon issues back in my own world. But not everything is evil just because of what they are. It’s their actions that matter. Crowley stepped up to save me. He’s freaking terrified of the repercussions, but did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Like I said, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Dean shook his head, clearly more frustrated. “You’re unbelievable.”

Sam cracked a small smile, hoping to ease the tension slightly. “Always have been and always will be.” 

No amusement was shown on Dean’s face. Not even a hint of it. Sam chose to ignore it because he had more pressing matters to get to. “Listen, I have something serious to talk about, though. Jacob, the dude who was friends with Jett, is a traitor. He’s working with my alternate self.”

Dean’s eyes widened at the accusation. “What?”

“After our last conversation, or I guess argument is a better word, I was taking a breather. Jacob showed up once I was alone. He hit me in the head with a bat to knock me out. The next thing I knew, I was at my other self’s lair. Jacob must have given me over to him. If he’s still here with your camp, then you have a traitor or spy on your hands.”

Dean appeared to be thinking over what Sam had said. He hoped to hell his brother believed him. “You know this for sure?”

Sam nodded. “He hit me in the head with the bat and said something about ‘not putting up a fight.’ At the very least, you should talk to him and figure out what’s going on.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of it. He’s back at camp right now. No one knows you’re back yet other than my men who just left, but they won’t breathe a word of it to anyone without my approval. I’ll find Jacob and we’ll have a nice, long conversation about what the hell is happening.”

Sam realized he probably wasn’t included in “we.”

“I want in, too. This is personal, and maybe he’ll let his guard down if I’m there.”

Dean crossed his arms and shook his head. “Hell no. You’re a liability.”

“No, I’m you’re best weapon. He might not give anything up to you. But to me, he might. Especially if he is working with him. I’m pretty identical to his possible master, so he might accidentally slip up. I’m going to be there, Dean. Deal with it.”

Dean looked like he was ready to blow a gasket. Sam knew he had stepped on his toes, disobeying his orders so openly. But he was done with sitting on the sidelines. This was too personal now. 

“Fine. One screw up, though, and you’re thrown out of here.”

Sam nodded. Dean turned away then, walking into the forest. “Well, let’s go find him then. We need to figure this out ASAP.”

Sam started following him, curious to see how this whole thing would go. He only hoped this interaction would go well, leading them one step closer to stopping his alternate self.

One step closer to getting home.


	13. Chapter 13

Dean and Sam walked into the campsite. It looked almost exactly like the one he was at before he was taken. He tried to quickly look around for Bobby or Rufus, but didn’t see them anywhere. 

There were containers spread out everywhere on the ground full of weapons of different types. In a few of the containers were medical supplies and food/water. Many people were gathered around each box, searching through supplies. It appeared like scavengers grabbing whatever they could to survive. 

They continued walking forward when Sam recognized the figure they were coming up on: Castiel. He was talking with a woman who seemed pissed over something. Cas was speaking matter-of-factly toward her over the issue at hand. As Dean approached, the woman backed away, bowing her head toward him. 

Cas turned around to face the two of them. He acknowledged Dean first by responding, “Hello, Dean.” He said no words to Sam, only focused on Dean. 

“Cas, do you know where Jacob Townsend is?” 

Sam wasn’t sure of Jacob’s last name, but he hoped Dean was talking about the same guy he was. Cas nodded his head. “Yes, I do. He is with Jett, as always. They are looking over the angel blades, making sure they are sharpened.”

Jacob near any weapon sounded terrible. Sam looked to Dean and said, “We got to get to him quickly.”

Dean nodded and looked back to Cas. “I want you in on this Cas. We need to interrogate this guy, and your powers are very handy.” The angel replied, “Okay.”

Dean held his hand out to Sam. “Let me go grab him so he won’t be suspecting anything. You two go into the farther part of the woods. Cas will know where I’m talking about. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

As Dean was about to leave, Sam grabbed his arm. “Wait, I just had a realization. Maybe bring Jett, too. The two of them are friends and seem close, so he might be working with alternate-me, too.”

Sam hoped to hell that wasn’t true. He actually kind of liked Jett. He was always kind to Sam, but maybe he was so nice because of the fact Sam looked like his possible boss. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Dean pulled his arm out of Sam’s grip and turned away from the two, walking further into the crowd of people. Castiel spoke, saying “Let’s go, Sam.”

Sam turned to follow the angel into the deepest part of the woods. They walked for a few minutes, and Sam recognized they were a good-bit away from camp. There was nothing but trees and grass everywhere. The sounds of the campsite were long forgotten and the calmness of the outdoors were enveloping him instead. It was actually nice.

Sam wanted to talk to Cas, but chose not to in case Jacob was nearby. Sam’s return would be a huge surprise to him, and it needed to stay that way. Officially, Cas agreed as he too kept silent. 

After a few minutes had passed, Sam heard the crunching of grass beneath several boots heading in their direction. He mentally prepared himself for the confrontation at hand. He wasn’t sure how this would go, but needed to be ready for anything. Jacob could pretend he didn’t do anything at all, or he could just attack them all. Plus, who knew what side Jett was on. Unfortunately, Sam felt he might be leaning towards the latter after putting some of the facts together about the man. He was too accepting of Sam. Too cordial to an alternate version of the person who was viewed as a vile monster in this world. 

Suddenly, Sam could see them. Dean was walking behind them, hand on his lower back. Probably keeping it on his gun, just in case. Jett was to the left and Jacob to the right. Both were walking with their heads looking toward the ground. Sam had to use everything in his being to keep from punching the asshole in the face. He just needed to wait and be patient.

“Sir, why are we being brought all the way out here? We’ve been doing our fair-share of work. I don’t under-”

Jacob stopped speaking as soon as his eyes met Sam’s. Shock was covering his face. It was a little off, though. It was more of a horrified shock. Sam moved his eyes over to Jett, and his face was incredibly different. He seemed happy and relieved.

Jett spoke first. “S-Sam? Damn, it is so good to see you! I was so worried after you went missing!”

Jacob tried to mask his face to appear relieved, too. “We didn’t know if we would see you again. It’s good that you’re back.”

Sam narrowed his eyes at the man. He hoped his brother would recognize the bullcrap this guy was pulling. 

“You can cut the crap.” Officially, he could.

Jacob shot his eyes over to Dean, terror evident in them. “What do you mean?”

Sam decided it was his time to talk. “You gave me over to the alternate version of myself.”

Jett’s mouth fell open in shock. “W-What?!?” He turned his gaze to his friend. “Jake, tell me this isn’t true.”

Jacob looked to Jett and then Dean. “I have no idea what he’s talking about! I would never commit such an act of treason.”

Sam could start to feel his own anger starting to build. “Oh yeah? So, you didn’t hit me in the head with a baseball bat to knock me out? And, once I woke up, I was at the Other Me’s lair. You just knock me out and somehow I magically arrive there with no correlation between the two?”

Sam could see the fear in Jacob’s eyes, although his face was calm and even confused. “That’s not true! I mean, how do we not know YOU’RE not working with The Enemy?!? Do you have any witnesses to prove I did anything of what you’re saying?”

“No, because you waited till Dean left, so you and I would be alone. I had to fight my way out of there. I left before he could do anything to me, so no, I’m not working with him. But you are, so why don’t you just admit it already.”

Jacob looked to Jett again and then back to Sam. A smug smile etched its way onto his face. “Fine, you wanna hear it. Here ya go: I delivered you to my Master.”

Jett stepped back from Jacob. “Y-You’ve been working for him? I thought we were friends!”

Jacob shot his gaze toward Jett. “Oh, of course we’re not friends! You are so pathetic and worthless! You were just a good cover-up to help keep my secret. No one would suspect me when I had such a close friend who was working so hard for The Resistance.”

Jett looked heartbroken as tears formed in his eyes. Dean took a step toward Jacob, then. “So, you’re a spy?”

Jacob whipped his head to face Dean, that same damn creepy smile looming on his lips. “Sure, you could say that!”

Dean moved another inch towards the traitor. “Tell us everything. Now.”

Jacob tilted his head to the side as if amused by Dean. “Well, now why would I do that? I am The Master’s best human servant, so why would I betray him?”

Dean looked over to Cas who moved to Jacob in lightning speed. The angel grabbed his arms, using all of his power to keep him from moving. 

“You’re going to tell us or you die. It’s as simple as that. And it’s not gonna be some quick, painless death. No, this will be an excruciating, long death. So I suggest taking the easier route on this one.”

Jacob laughed both loudly and obnoxiously. “How you would die for your cause, I would die for my Master. Even a painful death is better than betraying him. He’s promised me safety, along with no pain or suffering in Hell after my death.”

An idea popped into Sam’s head. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he had to try. “Dean, come here for a second.”

Dean walked over to Sam, backs facing the others. Sam whispered, “I wanna try something and see if it will work. See if I can get him to talk.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “What’s your idea?”

Sam braced himself for the pushback he was sure to receive. “I can pretend to be like Other Me. He might talk to him.”

Dean looked at Sam incredulously. “Really? The hell, Sam. That won’t work! He’s an idiot, but not dumb.”

Sam considered this for a moment. “True. But if I can act like him, he might let his need for pleasing his ‘Master’ take over. I mean, I look almost exactly like him. And I’ve met him now, so I know some of his mannerisms.”

Dean ran his hand over his face in frustration. “Ugh, fine. But as soon as this doesn’t work, we do this my way, which will include more blood and pain for him.”

Sam nodded. He took a second to compose himself. He tried to imagine his alternate self’s face and conversations. He knew he would have to put on the performance of a lifetime to make this guy believe him. 

He finally turned around to face Jacob. “Cas, Dean, and Jett, give us a moment.” Dean nodded to Cas, who let go of Jacob after approval from his Leader. Jett moved over to the other two. 

Sam walked over to Jacob, trying to remain calm and stay in control of his movements to be exactly like his counterpart. “Let’s talk.”

Jacob was skeptical, unsure of Sam’s intentions. “What the hell do you want?”

Sam snapped his head at Jacob’s words, remembering his other self would have never been spoken to that way. “You don’t get to speak to me in that manner.”

Sam’s words were full of as much anger and resoluteness as he could muster. It was enough to where Jacob straightened up some. “Excuse me?”

Sam tried to make himself bigger than he actually was, enough to be more intimidating. “I come out to check on my little spy on the inside and here you are spilling all of my secrets to them.”

Jacob’s eyes widened at the statement. “You don’t expect me to believe you. You’re screwing with me.”

Sam narrowed his own gaze. “I have that stupid alternate universe Sam trapped in my throne room, drinking the demon blood, thanks to you. So how about you stop disappointing me now? I came here to say how you had done such a wonderful job, which, as you know, is a huge compliment coming from me. Yet, I come here and see you bragging how you’re a damn spy?!?”

Sam didn’t know how, but any doubt in Jacob’s mind seemed to melt away. Maybe Sam really touched into his darker side enough to make this believable, which honestly scared him. But, he couldn’t worry with that at the moment and instead needed to focus on getting the information he needed. He knew Dean, Castiel, and Jett didn’t move too far away so they could overhear this interaction. So, Sam would need to convince Jacob enough that he would give up secrets.

“I-I’m sorry, sir. I-I shouldn’t have done that. Please forgive me.” He sounded so terrified.

“I don’t know if this is something I can forgive. But, maybe you can make it up somehow. How do you think will be best?”

Jacob immediately responded, “I can help lead one of the legions when we go into battle! I’ll be on the front lines! Please, just don’t torture me!”

Bingo. Now they were getting somewhere. 

“Let’s test your knowledge, you sad, little ant. Tell me about this upcoming battle and how you would be best fit to lead. If you do a good job and can prove you actually know what you’re talking about, then I might consider sparing you.”

Jacob was physically shaking. Sam didn’t exactly look like his other self, especially with his long hair. But, Jacob seemed to fully believe him now. He must’ve sounded and acted almost identical to the Other Him. That one thought almost had him gagging. The absolute last thing he wanted was to be like him in any way. 

Jacob’s shaky voice broke Sam out of his thoughts. “T-The hundreds of legions are r-ready for your command to attack the rest of the w-world. They w-will force subjugation on t-the rest of the living humans. The attack happens in t-three days. W-With the other Sam on your s-side, you’ll be even more invincible. I would help l-lead my troop against The Resistance. We would k-kill anyone who opposed us or fought back.”

Sam’s head was spinning with the news. He knew Dean had to be reeling from it, too. They had three days until a full-scale demon attack happened all over the world. Hundreds of troops meant thousands of demons. Who knew how many humans still remained on Earth, but not all would be able to fight. 

Sam steered himself to remain calm because he needed to know one more thing. “And tell me, boy, what will I do with the subjugated? Don’t get this wrong.”

“They will serve you and demon-kind in whatever ways you want. It could be as a workforce or allowing themselves to be slaughtered for a demon’s pastime.”

This was bad. This was very bad. “Crap.”

Jacob tilted his head at his “Master’s” response. “What, sir?”

Sam turned to look at Dean, whose face had paled. They didn’t have much time to figure out what to do. “Dean?”

Dean shook his head, making himself take control over himself again. “Cas, grab the traitor. You know what to do with him.” 

Castiel started walking past Sam towards Jacob. “W-Wait! Master, what’s going on?!?”

Sam looked over his shoulder disgusted. It was enough for Jacob to realize his mistake. “Y-You’re not him! You tricked me!”

Castiel grabbed his arms and started pulling the traitor deeper into the forest. Jacob started yelling, “YOU’RE ALL SCREWED! YOU WILL LOSE! THE BOY KING WILL WIN! HE WILL MURDER YOU ALL!!!”

His voice started drifting off as he disappeared farther into the woods. Sam looked over to Dean. “What will happen to him?”

Dean looked at the ground, responding, “What happens to all traitors who commit treason of any kind. Death.”

Right then, a scream echoed through Sam’s ears. It wasn’t extremely loud, but the fear was all there. It was enough to make Sam queasy. 

He swallowed and took a deep breath. He finally looked to Jett, whose tears were freely flowing down his cheeks. Of course he was upset. He just lost his best friend, the friend who was secretly using him to destroy his own people. 

Life can play such cruel jokes on the innocent.

Jett’s broken voice said, “What in the actual hell are we going to do?”

Castiel emerged from the trees to rejoin the group. He looked to Dean, who was still staring at the ground. “Dean, what are your orders?”

Sam noticed something the others couldn’t see. It was the defeated position Dean was in. His shoulders were slightly slumped forward with his head down. 

Dean finally lifted his head, and Sam could see his eyes. They were full of sorrow. “I don’t know.”

Cas took a step forward. “Dean, we need to do something now. We have three days until the attack.”

“Dammit Cas, I know! I get it, we’re freaking screwed to hell and back! But I don’t know what to do! We don’t have enough time!”

Sam contemplated this. It’s true, many of Dean’s members of The Resistance weren’t trained up enough to fight. Plus, it wouldn’t do a damn thing with that many demons out there. 

Suddenly, Sam got an idea. A crazy, dumb idea, but an idea nevertheless. “I have something.”

All eyes shot to him. “You’re right, Dean. Not everyone is ready to fight. So, they get trained up in the three days we still have.”

Jett shook his head. “Okay, great. But with thousands of demons on the way, they will be ripped apart, whether they’re trained or not.”

Sam nodded. “That’s true. But they will be trained in case our plan goes sideways.”

Castiel squinted his eyes, obviously interested in what Sam had to say. “And that plan is?”

Sam smiled. “Dean, Cas, and I go to my alternate self and stop him.”

There was a moment of silence until it was broken by humorless laughter. Dean was shaking his head. “No way. You’re insane! I’m not putting my people in danger because of your half-assed plan!”

“Dean, listen to me, they will be in danger no matter what. We can stop him together. They have a better chance at survival if we do this!”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Sure, okay, well we can’t leave our people without a leader!”

Sam nodded his head toward Jett. “We have leaders who can take over while we’re gone. Jett, here, would be great. Bobby and Rufus, too. They will make sure everyone is trained and equipped for this kind of battle. And Ace can help, too. He’s actually a pretty natural leader. You got people who can do this. We need to do this. Let’s take the fight to him rather than just play defense.”

Sam was tired of being thrown around in this world. He was ready to take a stance. Ready to fight. This was the time to do it. 

“Dammit, you come into this world and you think you can make the calls?”

“No, I just know that I have saved our world with my Dean and Cas countless times. I know a little about taking chances to save people. I made a promise. A promise to help free your world. That is exactly what I am going to do.”

Dean looked extremely annoyed, frustrated, and pissed. Yet, he said, “Fine. Jett, gather Bobby, Rufus, and Ace. I need to speak with you all. Cas, make sure everyone and everything is accounted for. Sam, get a better grip on this plan of yours. The three of us leave a dawn. The Enemy’s true lair will be about a day-and-a-half’s walk. Now go!”

Jett runs off, Castiel trailing behind him. Dean starts off, but pauses for a second to look over his shoulder. “Sam, I hope you’re right about this. My people’s lives are on the line.”

He then left, leaving Sam alone. He felt slightly overwhelmed and worried. He could have made the wrong call, but he also knew they would be damned no matter what. Maybe this way, they could prevent the war. His plan would work.

It had to.


	14. Chapter 14

As Sam entered into the camp again, he could hear Dean’s voice echoing off the trees saying, “I NEED TO SEE ACE, BOBBY, AND RUFUS IMMEDIATELY!”

Sam walked towards the source of the voice. He then saw Cas standing not too far away next to some trees. After maneuvering past some people, he was able to meet the angel. 

“Where’s Dean at?”

Cas looked him in the eyes. It was different from before. Earlier, he had no emotions whatsoever, just indifference. Now, he looked nervous, but hopeful. “He’s right past these trees.”

Sam nodded, walking past him. As he continued forward, he saw Dean standing in an empty patch of grass that was surrounded by more trees.

“Dean.”

Dean looked up to Sam. “You can’t be here.”

Sam didn’t back down. “This is my plan, so I get to be here.”

Dean shook his head. “You always were so damn stubborn.”

Sam smiled slightly. He moved closer to his alternate brother. “Not as stubborn as you.”

Dean chuckled. “I disagree. Little brothers are super annoying and stubborn. You wouldn’t understand.”

Sam was standing next to Dean, who had resorted to looking down at the ground again. Sam shifted on his legs, trying to get more comfortable as the air between them became awkward again. Dean sighed.

“Damn. I am all messed up.”

Sam snapped his head up at Dean’s comment. “What’re you talking about?”

“I miss him.”

Sam’s eyes widened. He was pretty sure he knew who Dean was talking about, but wanted him to confirm it. “Who?”

“My Sam. How screwed up is that? That I miss the person who has destroyed this world?”

Sam raised his eyebrows. This was a different side to this Dean that Sam had ever seen since he arrived in this world. Anytime he talked about his Sam, he would get upset and angry. This time, he was mournful and sad.

“I mean, he’s your brother. It’s not insane that you miss him.”

Dean snorted a fake laugh. “Really? Look, my anger has been fueling me since he killed so many people who we loved and cared about. But, after you showed up, it reminded me of what life used to be. How him and I used to be.”

Sam didn’t really know what to say. After talking with his alternate self, he learned a lot. While he was disgusted by his other self’s actions, he also recognized that Dean wasn’t as innocent as he had originally made himself out to be when the whole situation with Lucifer was happening. 

Sam was about to address it when he saw Jett walk into his eyesight. He would have to wait, but Sam would make sure to continue this discussion with Dean.

Dean pulled his shoulders back, hiding all emotion he was once feeling. “Jett, did you gather them up?”

Jett nodded his head quickly, ushering behind him. Ace, Bobby, and Rufus then walked into view. They looked confused and even a little nervous.

Ace spoke up first. “Sir, excuse me for asking, but what are we doing here?”

Dean stepped forward to address them better. “We just learned that we had a traitor amongst us.”

Rufus cursed loudly. “I was afraid something like that might happen eventually.”

Dean raised his hands up, indicating he had more to say. “Unfortunately, I felt it might happen, too. The traitor was Jacob Townsend. We have dealt with him the same way we deal with any traitors.”

At the mention of Jacob’s name, three pairs of eyes shot over to Jett, who looked like he was doing everything possible to keep it together.

Dean continued. “Anyway, we got him to spill something important. There is an all-out demon war coming in three days. It’s The Enemy’s plan. Our camp is one of the main targets. Thousands of demons are going to go on a slaughtering spree.”

Bobby shook his head. “Three days?!? How the hell are we supposed to fight off a demon attack of that magnitude?!?”

Sam stepped forward, then. “The hope is that it won’t have to happen.”

All eyes moved to Sam, then, except for Dean’s. Rufus said, “How?”

“Dean, Castiel, and myself will go to, um, ‘The Enemy’ and stop him.”

Silence filled the air after Sam spoke. He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if they had heard what he had said or not.

Ace broke the silence, though. “You’re going to kill The Enemy? We’ve been trying to do that for so long and you see where we are now.”

Dean interjected, “That’s true, Ace. But, this time, we’ll stop him.”

Bobby looked to Rufus, as if having an entire conversation through eye contact. He then looked back to Dean. “And if you fail? We’ll all be dead.”

Dean pointed to the four of them. “That is where you all come in. We need people to lead while I am gone. Leaders to train and prepare our people for this battle if it were to happen. I am asking that you four to step up to do the job.”

Shock was written all over the faces of Ace, Bobby, and Rufus. They all blurted out in unison, “What?!?”

Sam said, “You guys can do this. We’re counting on you all to help protect your people. You’re equipped to teach them how to fight back. And you all care about keeping them safe. If we fail, it’s up to you.”

They didn’t respond, but stood taller, obviously showing they accepted their new roles. Dean then nodded to them. “You’re free to go. Get to work. I will talk to the group in a few minutes.”

Dean then walked away, leaving Sam with the four men. Bobby and Rufus moved closer to him. Bobby asked him, “You disappeared for a while. You okay?”

Sam took a deep breath and responded, “I was kidnapped by my other self. He wanted to try and turn me into him, but I fought back. I was saved by a demon named Crowley who didn’t want to work for him anymore. I got out before anything bad could happen.”

They both nodded. Ace’s voice came through, saying, “Good. I knew you would be strong enough to resist him.”

Sam smiled at him. Jett moved closer, too. Rufus said, “Well, it looks like this might be the last time we see ya, kid.”

Sam wasn’t sure if that would ring true or not, but he knew this was a dangerous battle they were going into. Who knew if he would even make it out alive. All he could think about then was his Dean, Cas, and Jack. He missed them a helluva lot. If he died, they may never find him. He didn’t want his family to go through that pain. 

He would fight and stop his alternate self, but he would live through it. That was his goal: Save this world and stay alive.

A pat on his shoulder drew him out of his thoughts. He looked at the hand and followed it to it’s owner. Ace was staring back at him with a smile on his face. “You got this. And I think we can all agree when I say thank you. We all misjudged you. You’re not evil and you’re not a monster. You’re risking everything to save us, and we couldn’t be more thankful. No matter how this all turns out, we can probably all agree how happy we are to have met you, Sam.”

Sam could feel tears starting to form in his eyes. It’s crazy how things had changed so much in this world. The people who despised him now trusted him fully. His lips curled upward into a small smile.

Ace grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. Sam hugged him back, allowing a few of his tears to fall. The hug only lasted a few seconds. They both moved back away from each other. Ace then said, “Now, go kick it in the ass.”

Sam nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He looked at the other three, who were all smiling and nodding their own heads. 

Rufus then cleared his voice. “Well, we need to get outta here. The Leader will be making the announcement soon. We gotta be ready.”

They all turned to walk away. Jett halted about halfway to the trees, turning his head to Sam. “I’ve believed in you first when you got here. I still believe in you now. You can do this. Please, help save us.”

He then turned his head back to the trees and disappeared behind them. Sam took a deep breath as they had a lot to still do. But, they were right. He could do this. 

And he would.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we are slowly nearing the end! I may be updating this story more often than just on Sundays! I want to finish it up soon! But, I also want to make sure it is good! So, I cannot guarantee specifics on an upload schedule. Although, you can still expect a chapter on Sundays for now! 
> 
> Thank you all again for the kudos and comments! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

Dawn was approaching. Sam had spent the rest of the day and night packing supplies and preparing for the journey ahead. Honestly, he was a little nervous. This was going to be a big battle and who knew if they would all survive. He just wished his actual family was there to help, or at least his Dean. The thought of never seeing them again made him queasy. 

He missed them so damn badly. He wondered how they were handling his disappearance for this long. Sam could only imagine how Dean was. His older brother wouldn’t rest until he found him. If only he was here with him now, Sam would feel a lot better about facing his alternate self. 

“Sam.”

Sam was ripped from his thoughts. He looked up from the bag he was packing to see Cas standing in front of him. “Hey, Cas.”

Castiel kept his focus on Sam. “We’re about to leave in five minutes. Meet us at the front of the camp.”

Sam nodded his head. Cas turned on his heels and headed towards the center of camp. Sam finished packing what he needed. In his duffel bag, he had an angel blade, a revolver, holy water, salt, drinking water, and a few granola bars. He had to hope this would be enough. 

Sam zipped his duffel up and threw it over his shoulders. He looked down at himself. His clothes were only slightly different than before. He had on a pair of blue jeans, black V-neck t-shirt, black denim jacket, and black combat boots. At least he had normal jeans this time. 

Sam ran a hand through his hair, which felt greasy. He needed one hell of a shower. He chuckled thinking of all of the jokes his brother would be making about that. 

Sam would find a way to make it back to his Dean. To his family.

It was almost time for him to meet this world’s Dean and Cas, though. But, he remembered one more thing he needed to take care of. 

Sam walked over to the entrance of the camp, stopping a few feet away near trees surrounding the left side. “Crowley?”

Sam waited, hoping the demon would appear. After a few seconds of looking around for him, he spotted him a few feet into the tree line. Sam walked over to him quickly. 

“Sam, good to see you again.”

Sam stopped in front of him, hoping this conversation would go better than he was expecting.

“Look, Dean, Castiel, and I are going after him. My other self. We’re going to stop him.”

Crowley’s eyes widened. “Excuse me, what?!?”

Sam shifted, trying to speak quickly and quietly. “We found out about the demon attack coming in about two days now. We gotta strike first to save this world. Also, did you know about this plan? If so, why the hell didn’t you say anything to me?!?”

Crowley narrowed his eyes at Sam. “You really think I would risk my ass saving you and known about something like that? I had no clue! If I did, I wouldn’t have saved you then! I was a servant, meaning I was told nothing! Now, I’m going to be ripped to shreds!”

Sam shook his head. “No. That’s why we’re going to stop the Other Me. If we can end this before it starts, then the world will be safe, including you. But, I gotta ask you a favor.”

Crowley rolled his eyes in annoyance. “It’s not like I haven’t risked damn-near everything for you already! What the hell else could you want of me?”

Sam sighed. He knew how terrified Crowley was of confrontation, but he was powerful nevertheless. “I need you to help protect this camp if we fail. You’re a demon, meaning you have powers and know warding sigils to help protect these people. Please, I need you to help save them, too.”

Crowley furiously shook his head. “Hell no! If you three fail, then I’m high-tailing it out of here!”

“Please. You don’t wanna hide forever, right? Always being scared? Now’s your time to step up. Now’s your time to take charge, like the Crowley from my world I told you about. You can do it. I believe in you.”

Crowley stood there, silently. Sam had no clue what was going on in his head, but waited patiently. He knew he was way over his five minutes and wasn’t sure if Dean would leave him or not. But, Sam needed Crowley to help. With him on their side, the camp would have a better chance of survival. 

“Ugh, I hate you, Moose. You know that?” 

Sam lifted up a corner of his mouth into a small smile. “Is that a yes?”

Crowley sighed, defeated. “Yeah, I guess it is. But if I die for you, I’ll kill you.”

Sam had a full-on smile then. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, seriously.”

“Whatever.”

Sam turned to leave but paused. “Also, keep your listening ears on. If I need you, I’ll call. You got this, Crowley.”

With that, he continued on. But, he heard over his shoulder three words. “Good luck, Moose.”

Sam moved as fast as possible to the entrance only to see a pissed off Dean tapping his foot impatiently. The sight honestly brought another smile to his face. It reminded him so much of his own Dean. 

Once he was in eyesight of him, Dean started yelling, “The hell, man?!? We said five minutes! It’s been like ten! What were you doing?” 

Sam moved to stand next to Castiel, who was looking between Sam and Dean. “I decided to put our secret weapon to good use.”

Dean’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Secret weapon? What the hell do you mean?”

Sam smiled. “You know the demon I brought with me? The one who saved me? Him. He’s game to help protect your people if we don’t get there in time, or something worse happens.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “Oh, okay.”

Silence filled the air. Sam was sure his alternate brother was feeling a little guilty for almost killing Crowley instead of listening to Sam. 

Castiel broke the silence by saying, “We need to leave now. We have a long road ahead of us. And I cannot fly anymore since my wings were burnt, so we’ll have to walk.”

Dean nodded. “Right. Alright give me one second.”

He stepped forward, prepared to address his people. Sam could see his body posture change. His shoulders moved back, making him appear several feet taller than he actually was. He looked solid. 

Dean cleared his voice and spoke. “Attention everyone!”

All eye shot to him as conversations abruptly ended and movement stopped. All attention was towards their fearless leader. 

“Alright, listen. The three of us are going after The Enemy. We were warned of an impending battle that is to come soon, and we intend to stop it. To stop him. But, in case things go south, I am leaving Rufus, Bobby, Ace, and Jett in charge. You listen to everything they tell you, no matter what! They will help you all prepare if a battle is what has to happen. There are also some others who will be here to help if the fight ensues. Don’t kill them. Appreciate their help. Hopefully, next time I see you all, this war will be over finally. Stay strong.”

As Dean finished speaking, cheering roared throughout the camp. The people didn’t look afraid. They looked hopeful.

Sam only hoped his plan actually worked and their hope wasn’t in the wrong person.

Dean waved and turned heading away from the camp. Sam and Cas followed suit, remaining silent as cheers for the three of them echoed in the trees. 

The three of them continued walking until they reached the road. Once they did, Sam had to ask, “So how are we just going to walk the whole way there? Are we going to have enough time before the demon armies head out?”

Dean thought for a moment. Then, it was like a lightbulb went off in his head. “Baby!”

Sam’s eyes widened. “The Impala?!? You still have the car?”

Dean turned right on the road and kept walking forward. Sam ran to keep up with him. “She’s not in the best condition, but she should help us make the trip. We’ll have to walk a little ways to get to her, but luckily it’s the way we need to go anyways.”

“Great!”

They started walking, beginning the long journey toward the end.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

After walking about ten miles, Sam’s legs were killing him. He hoped the car was close by because he wasn’t going to make it much longer. 

No one had really spoken to each other since they had left the camp. A few directions were given here and there, but that was about it. 

Dean was leading the way in the front, while Cas stayed more towards the back. The angel was probably keeping his eyes out for any intruders who might sneak up on them. Sam had stayed in the middle of the two, focusing on breathing and paying attention to his surroundings. 

He was bored, though. He hated the silence right then. He figured Dean wasn’t in a chatty mood, so he started to hang back. Once he was walking next to Castiel, he started speaking. 

“Hey Cas, I got a question for you.”

Castiel didn’t look at him but said, “What is it?”

Sam took a deep breath. “Our Cas in my world changed after coming to Earth. After meeting Dean and myself. He wasn’t really a soldier anymore, more someone fighting for his family. You seem like a soldier. I was wondering if you have always been this way?”

Castiel made eye contact with him, then. Sam couldn’t read the emotions in his eyes. “I-I’m sorry if I overstepped a boundary. You don’t have to answer. My bad.”

Cas turned his head forward again. Sam was ready to move back to his original walking spot when the angel’s voice started speaking. 

“I didn’t always used to be this way. Of course, I was a soldier when I was in heaven. But, when I met the Sam and Dean from my world, they became my family, too. I always was there for them, even during the difficult times.”

Sam figured he knew the answer to his next question, but decided to ask anyway. “What changed?”

Castiel sighed so deeply, Sam wondered if it rattled his lungs. “When Lucifer was freed from the cage, things slowly started to change. I was close to Jack. He was the closest thing I would ever have to a child, even if he was technically not mine. When Lucifer killed him, it felt like a part of myself died with him. I was in a dark space, and I felt hopeless. I blame myself for this whole situation we are in because I stopped checking in on Sam and Dean after Jack’s death. If I had, I could have realized what Sam was doing and stopped him. Or, at least, told Dean.

“I found out about everything from Dean when it was too late. Dean had let Sam go, and then told me the whole story. I flew us over there in time to see Sam obliterate Lucifer. Dean and I barely got away, but he still believed he could save Sam. So we got some of our allies and friends to go and talk to him, but also prepared for a fight. Of course, as you know, that ended horribly. I almost died. Sam roasted my angel being alive, burnt my wings off. Dean saved me, but I lost part of my angel self. So, yeah, I changed. I changed to survive.”

Sam didn’t really know what to say. Cas had lost part of his angel being due to this alternate version of himself. Sam felt sick to his stomach at the thought. 

What in the absolute hell went wrong in this world to cause all of this to happen?

Sure, Sam could just say ‘his other self is evil,’ but that didn’t feel right to him. According to every aspect of the story Sam had heard, this Other Him was similar to him before he started drinking the blood again. And he had done it to stop Lucifer. 

While Sam knew the blood was not the right way to go about stopping the Devil, he also knew where his other self’s heart was at. He seemed like he wanted to save his brother and friend. He wanted to avenge Jack. 

So what went wrong?

“Thank you for sharing, Cas. And I’m so sorry.”

Castiel didn’t say anything, so Sam sped up his walking. Once he was at about the right spot as earlier, he continued to let his thoughts wander. 

Sam thought back to when he was drinking the blood. He was so close to turning into the one thing he hated: a monster. While his heart was also in the right place, that evil substance did stuff to him. But, he never turned to the dark side like this version of himself had. 

Why was that? What was different?

The only thing Sam could think of that kept him from going over the edge was Dean. In the end, after everything Sam had done to Dean, after everything Dean had said to Sam, his brother still came for him. 

Honestly, as Sam was thinking more about it, Dean had always been there for him. Dean raised him. Protected him under all costs. He was there to help Sam through his visions. Allowed Sam to hunt with him again after he had released Lucifer. He got Sam’s soul back. He helped him through the hallucinations of Lucifer. Pulled Sam from the brink of death when shutting the gates of hell with the trials. Rescued Sam from the British Men of Letters. And now, he was trying to help Sam get his hope back after Chuck. 

On top of it all, Dean always forgave him. He forgave Sam for the demon blood. Forgave him for trusting Ruby instead of his brother. Forgave him for letting Lucifer out of the cage. Forgave him for not searching for him in Purgatory. Forgave him for Charlie. He forgave him for all of his mistakes, and he didn’t dwell on them. Instead, he supported him.

Sam knew that went everything went to hell, he could always count on his brother to be there. 

Maybe there is still more to the story that Sam needed to know. Because, if this Sam was an alternate of himself, he knew that no matter what, he would look up to his big brother. So, maybe someone else had a hand in him going over the edge. Someone who didn’t want to take on that responsibility. Someone named Dean Winchester.

Sam knew he needed to have this conversation with him soon, but decided to hold off for a little bit. Maybe in another mile.

But this conversation was needed, no matter how much Dean didn’t want it.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken me a little bit to post this chapter! I have been super busy the past two weeks, but I'm back now!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

It had been another few miles since Sam had spoken a word. His mind was whirling over different thoughts and theories. He needed to talk to Dean, but honestly his nerves were on edge. Every time he had attempted to have this conversation with him, it just ended with an argument.

No matter how much Sam knew where the conversation would go, he needed to do this, and he needed to do it soon. 

He started to pick up his pace to walk alongside Dean. Castiel was still trailing in the back, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of an attack. 

Once Sam was side-by-side with Dean, he spoke, saying, “How much farther till we reach the Impala?”

Dean didn’t even look at him, just kept his eyes focused ahead of himself. “We’re about a mile or two out from it. So almost there.”

Sam nodded, even though he knew his alternate brother wasn’t paying any attention to him. He took a deep breath before plunging into the topic at hand. 

“Dean, we need to talk before we get there.”

Dean’s body tensed up and annoyance filled his voice. “What?”

“We need to talk about your Sam.”

Sam noticed Dean’s hands ball up into fists at the mention of his brother’s name. “No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do. If we’re about to face him, we need to be ready. And there are still some pieces missing from the puzzle that need to be filled in.”

Dean tried to walk faster in order to leave Sam, but he just walked quicker to keep up with him. It was obvious his alternate brother didn’t want to talk about this.

“You’ve met him already. You already know how much of a monster he is.”

Sam could feel his own blood boiling. While Sam was disgusted with the version of himself he was face-to-face with only a few days ago, he hated that word being used with his person. 

“You’re right, I have met him. And from what I have heard, he was very similar to me in many different ways. But, what I haven’t been able to figure out yet is how he actually turned into who he is now.”

Sam could feel the anger and frustration emanating from Dean. He knew he was pushing the wrong buttons and soon his AU brother might blow up at him, but if that is what it took to figure all of this out, then so be it. 

“He turned into a monster because he was one. End of story.”

Dean was powering on, still trying to get away from Sam. “I don’t think that’s entirely true.”

Dean didn’t respond, just kept marching forward. Sam couldn’t take it anymore. He reached out and grabbed Dean’s elbow to stop him. Instead, when Sam made contact with his arm, Dean whipped around. 

Sam could see the anger all there. But, underneath it all, he could also see the fear and guilt he knew his brother always tried to hide. He could never hide it from Sam, though.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!? I’M TRYING TO SAVE MY PEOPLE AND YOU WANNA PLAY DR. PHIL OR SOMETHING?!?”

Sam worked on steering himself away from Dean’s anger. “The reality is you don’t want to take any responsibility for what has happened. And, until you do, this will end bloody and gruesome for all of us. I’m just trying to help.”

Dean’s mouth fell open. “You’re trying to say this is also MY fault?!?”

Sam felt his own frustration growing. “I’m saying that my Dean is the one who always talked me off the edge. He never gave up on me. He saved me. And that’s why I’m the one saving the world with him by my side rather than destroying it like your Sam.”

Dean nodded his head for a second, until he reared his arm back, fists clenched. Before Sam could react, the fist collided with his jaw, causing sharp pains to radiate all over from the impact. Sam stumbled back for a minute, trying to regain his control. 

When he looked back at Dean, he could see regret written all over his face. “I-I’m sorry. I just lost my cool.”

Sam sighed. He knew a nice bruise would be forming on his jawline soon. But, he straightened himself. “I know. It’s fine. It’s just, when I talked with your Sam, I realized many things. The biggest was that I could have become him. I continued to wonder how I didn’t after all the horrible crap I had done. The only factor that remained the same was my Dean. He stayed my protective big brother. He was the one who helped me stay human and not turn into…. into a monster. He never gave up on me, even when I thought he should. Without him, I think I would’ve turned into your Sam. But, I made a promise when I arrived here. I promised to help save your world. However, I feel that includes your Sam, as well. I think there might be a way to save both.”

Sam could see the tears beginning to form in Dean’s eyes. “There is no way to save both. It’s one or the other.”

Sam shook his head. “I disagree. I mean, do you really want to kill your brother? Really?”

Dean opened his mouth to respond, but then shut it. After a few seconds of what seemed to be him debating in his own mind, he opened it again. “No. I have never admitted that since this all began, but no. He’s still my little brother. But, if the choice is between him and the world, I have to choose the world. He’s too far gone.”

Sam took a step closer to Dean. “I have been, too. There have been many instances I never thought I would come back from. But, my Dean still fought for me, along with my Castiel and the rest of my family. From personal experience, I’m telling you, he just needs his big brother again. Now, that doesn’t excuse all of the bad he has done. He has to answer to that, but second chances are a real thing.”

Dean sighed. “I don’t know.”

Sam took another step closer. “There are many times when my Dean could have killed me. Taken down the threat. But, he always chose to save me. Now, it’s your turn to do the same.”

Dean didn’t respond, just looked to the ground. Sam was about to say something else when another voice stopped him. 

“Dean, the car is just ahead.” It was Castiel, who probably decided to stay out of the conversation and wanted to steer it in a different direction. 

Sam heard Dean sniffle. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

Dean turned around, about to continue forward when a bright light appeared just ahead of them. 

“What the hell is that?!?”

It took Sam only a second to recognize it. A long bright, whitish-yellow crack in the open. The power radiating from it. 

“It’s a rift.”

Sam slowly stepped forward towards the crack. He had no clue where it came from, or what it meant. Just as he was about to take another step, a bright flash caused him to cover his eyes. 

After a few seconds, he was able to blink his eyes open and focus his vision. Before he could look ahead, he heard one word.

“Sammy?”

Sam immediately snapped his head up. Standing in front of him was a relieved Dean and Castiel, except these two weren’t dressed in all-black attire. This Dean had denim jeans, brown work boots, black t-shirt, red flannel, and a green jacket on, and this Castiel was sporting his infamous trench coat. 

This was his Dean and Castiel.

They finally found him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> First, I need to apologize for me disappearing and not posting anything new in a long time. Classes for college started back for me in August, and I have been trying to get used to doing almost all online school. I haven't forgotten about this fic, and have been wanting to add to it for the longest. I just didn't have time for a while. But, I have a better handle on things now! My new goal is to finish this fic soon, hopefully before the last several episodes of the show start airing. I'm going to be writing as much as I can! Thank you all for the love and support on this story! This is my first long story I have ever written, and you're comments and kudos mean the absolute world to me! So, thank you again! And here is the next chapter as we slowly near the end! Enjoy!

“D-Dean?”

Sam couldn’t believe it. His Dean and Castiel, the ones who knew him as their family and not their enemy, was standing before him. No hate or disgust in their eyes. Instead, they were filled with so much relief.

Dean took a hesitant step forward toward Sam. And then another. Two more quick steps had him mere inches from Sam. His actual big brother reached his hands to place them on both of Sam’s shoulders. He looked him in right in the eye before pulling Sam into an embrace. 

Dean held tight and Sam was basically clinging to him. He could feel his tears starting to slip out from his eyes. For the past several days, Sam felt so alone. For the first time since he arrived in this world, Sam felt loved. Because this big brother holding onto him truly loved and cared about his little brother, even through all of his screw-ups. He didn’t look at him with hate. 

Sam had missed it so much.

Dean pulled back, still keeping his eyes locked on Sam. Castiel walked forward and placed one of his hands on Sam’s shoulder. “It is good to see you, Sam.”

He couldn’t help the biggest smile ever growing on his face. Dammit, he had missed them.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind him caused Sam to realize they weren’t alone. 

Alternate Dean’s voice was booming as he asked, “What the actual hell is going on?”

Sam noticed his Dean and Cas finally look behind him to find copies of themselves. Cas looked intrigued, but not really fazed. Dean, on the other hand, looked confused as hell staring at another version of himself. 

His Dean responded with, “I could ask you the same question.” He then turned his attention back to Sam. “What happened to you? How did you end up in an alternate universe?”

Sam sighed and pointed his thumb back toward the alternate versions of his family. “They accidentally brought me here. They meant to summon their own Sam, and instead pulled me into their universe.”

Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise. Honestly, Sam was still amazed that they managed to pull him from his universe to this one, but it wasn’t the most shocking thing he learned after arriving here. 

Alternate Dean was suddenly standing next to Sam. He didn’t even hear him approaching. “So you’re the Dean and Cas from his world, then?”

Cas nodded. “Yes. We were looking for him.”

Dean still kept his attention solely focused on Sam. “Alright little brother, let’s go.”

Sam stared at Dean before turning his head toward the alternate version of his older brother. Sam wanted to go home so badly. He was ready to leave this wretched place. Ready to be with his actual family. 

“I can’t.”

Dean’s mouth fell open. He could feel all four pairs of eyes staring at him. 

“What the hell do you mean you can’t?!? Of course you can!”

Sam took in a deep breath. “How long will the portal stay open?” 

Dean’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Castiel spoke up. “Jack is keeping it open, so probably until we get back. We told him we didn’t know how long it would take to find you, so he’s using a new technique in order to keep it open and not have to strain himself.”

Sam nodded. “Good. This world needs my help. And before I can go back, I have to do whatever I can to save it.”

Dean shook his head, anger and frustration radiating all over his body. “Dammit, Sam! This isn’t your world. If there’s a Dean, Sam, and Cas in this world, then they can help save it, like we have done with our own!”

“Their Sam caused the destruction of this world.”

Dean paused. His eyes were incredulous as he stared right at Sam. “What?”

Alternate Dean piped in then. “My Sam became the ‘Boy King’ and destroyed our world. We only have two-and-a-half days before an all-out demon war begins and kills everyone in this world. We are on our way to stop him now. Your Sam has promised to help my people, and I’m keeping him to his word.”

Dean stepped toward his alternate self, the anger back in full-force. “You aren’t making him do anything!”

Sam placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “He isn’t. This is my choice, Dean.”

Dean relaxed under Sam’s grip. His brother sighed. “Fine. But, I’m not losing you again. Cas and I will stay to help, too.”

Sam smiled. If only Dean knew how much that meant for him to hear right now. “Thanks.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Now what?”

Alternate Cas stepped forward. “We are walking to the sight of the Impala. Then we drive to The Enemy’s lair.”

Dean looked back to their Cas, who shrugged his shoulders. “Well, at least it’s an easy plan.”

They all started walking again, Dean and Cas both staying at Sam’s side.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were about ten minutes away from the car. The entire way, Sam had recounted his time since arriving to this universe to his brother and angel friend. He could feel their anger from hearing how Sam was treated by the people in this universe. Even more anger arose when Dean heard what his other self had done. 

Sam didn’t even tell them the whole story, yet. He didn’t mention everything this Dean had said and done to him. Plus, he hadn’t mentioned meeting his alternate self, either. But, that was for another time. He’d tell them before they got to their big battle against him. 

Once Sam had finished speaking, silence filled the air. Just the crunching of dirt under their shoes could be heard. The alternate Dean and Cas were walking a couple feet ahead of them. It was the only reason Sam hadn’t felt awkward explaining his experience. 

Dean had remained quiet most of Sam’s speech, only asking an occasional question or two. Once Sam stopped talking, Dean looked at him. “You do realize that you aren’t evil like they have claimed you to be, right?”

Sam thought for a moment. “Honestly, when I first arrived here, it was hard not to think like that. It was like a reminder of all my greatest failures, and how I could have turned evil any second. But, then I remembered I didn’t. I’ve done way more good than bad. It’s taken me a long time to realize that, but I think I finally have. It still hurts to have everyone looking at me like I’m a-”

Sam swallowed hard. “Like I’m a monster.”

It looked like Dean was about to speak when Cas cut him off. “Where did that bruise forming on your jaw come from? You didn’t mention being in any fights.”

Sam braced himself for what he knew was to come from his answer. He had spared a lot of the details about Alternate Dean’s negative treatment of him.

“Um, I wasn’t in any big fights. I-It was from a punch. From the other Dean…”

Just as Sam had expected, Dean’s head whipped over to him. “WHAT?!?”

“Dean, listen, it was an accident. I instigated it. It was my fault.”

If steam could have come out of Dean’s ears, it would be puffing out in a steady stream at this moment. His eyes tore away from Sam to in front of them, presumably at his clone. 

“Look, Dean, this hasn’t been easy on them. Any of the people in this world. The Sam of this world has done horrific things. He is scary.”

Dean shifted his eyes back over to Sam. “And how do you know that?”

Oh Sam did not want to talk about this right now. Sure, he had talked about his interaction with his other self with those of this world, but it was different with his actual brother. He didn’t have to put on the brave face for him. Plus, Dean could see right through Sam’s tough exterior to know what actual emotions he was truly dealing with.

And Sam was dealing with a lot.

“I, um, I met him. Face-to-face.”

“You met him? You forgot to mention that in your little story.”

Sam sighed deeply. “Dean, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Just as Dean was probably about to push Sam further, Alternate Dean yelled out, “We’re here!”

Sam silently thanked whoever he could for ending this conversation quickly. Dean leveled his gaze with him. “This conversation isn’t over.”

Sam nodded. He would talk with him about it. Just later. 

As they approached Alternate Dean and Castiel, Sam noticed Dean walk straight up to his body double. This would not end well.

“You punched my brother in the face?!?”

Sam was pretty sure Dean was about to throw a punch of his own at that point. “Dean, stop!”

Alternate Dean narrowed his eyes, but remained under control. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to do it.”

The answer didn’t seem to satisfy his Dean, though. “An accident, huh? He just told me about his past several days here and, based on what I’ve heard, he’s been treated like a villain since he arrived!”

Alternate Dean crossed his arms over his chest, attempting to make himself look bigger than Sam’s Dean. “He is similar to our Sam in many ways. It’s been difficult to trust someone so similar to the person who screwed our world.”

Dean’s fists were clenched, and his voice was on edge. “And here he is risking his life to save yours! Wow, so evil!” 

Alternate Dean lost it at that point, patience seemingly long gone. “How would you react if your little brother turned into a monster?!?”

Sam had heard enough. He ran up to the two versions of his older brother and jumped in between them. He knew they were both ready to start attacking the other, and that was the last thing he needed.

“STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!”

He looked at both of their faces, making sure to stand as tall as possible in order to show some authority. Both Dean’s looked surprised at Sam’s outburst. “We don’t have time for this! We need to get going.”

Sam turned and headed toward where he suspected the Impala was located. He heard several soft footsteps behind him, meaning they were following. 

Good. They needed to save this world, not yell at each other. 

This was going to be interesting and exhausting.


	18. Chapter 18

Slowly, the Impala started to come into view. 

And Sam was waiting to hear his brother blow a gasket.

The car had scratches all over it. The once beautiful black paint job was now fading. There was dirt coating the tires, caked on like dried mud. Also, there were small cracks along the windshield and windows of the car. 

His Dean would NEVER have let his car turn into this. It honestly had to be his worst nightmare come to life.

“What the HELL did you do to Baby?!?”

Yepp. Sam figured that would be his brother’s reaction. 

Dean ran over to the car, frantically inspecting it. He licked his pointer finger and then attempted to rub some of the dirt off the car. 

It was pretty unsuccessful. 

Castiel stood next to Sam, shaking his head at Dean. Sam turned to get a better look at the angel and saw the annoyance written all over Cas’s features. It was enough to tug the corner of Sam’s lips up into a soft smile. 

He had really missed these two.

Other Dean walked past Sam and Cas to where his Dean was still trying to wipe the mud off the car. “Move.”

He grabbed the back of Dean’s jacket, forcefully yanking him away from the car. The momentum caused Dean to stumble a few steps before catching himself. Other Cas walked past them as well towards the passenger seat of the car.

The alternate Dean addressed the three of them. “It’s just a car. And it still runs, which is all that matters. Now, get in. Time is wasting.” He then opened the driver’s side door and slipped inside. The other Cas followed suit on the passenger side. 

Dean turned back to look at Sam. He appeared beyond annoyed and pissed. “Are we really gonna listen to them?”

Sam nodded his head, keeping his eyes locked on his brother’s. “Yes. We have to help them stop their Sam. They call the shots for now, at least.”

Dean raised his eyebrows at the last half of Sam’s statement, but didn’t question him. Instead, he huffed an annoyed sigh. “I don’t wanna sit in the back.”

Sam could stop the smile that spread across his face. “I’m the one with the long legs dude. This will be hell for all of us.”

Dean flipped him off and stalked to the Impala. Cas started laughing beside Sam. “He is such a drama king.”

Sam whipped his head around and stared incredulously at his angel friend. Never would he have ever thought he’d hear Castiel, the angel of the Lord, sass his older brother. Sam busted out laughing. He couldn’t help it, it felt nice to be able to laugh wholeheartedly again. 

Cas walked away, moving to open the door. He motioned his hand to the open seat in the middle as he looked at Sam. “You want the middle?”

Sam’s laughing started to quiet down to small giggles as he nodded his head. He walked over and slid into the car as Cas moved in next to him. The door slamming was the cue for the car to start. It took a few seconds for the motor to fully roar to life, but it finally did, the entire car buzzing alive. 

Alternate Dean sighed. “Here we go.”

They then started on their way to the other Sam’s hideout.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

They had been in the car for probably about three hours so far. Sam’s legs were aching everywhere. He was basically in the fetal position with his legs pushed into his chest. His back wasn’t doing any better since he couldn’t move. Being shoulder-to-shoulder with a big brother and angel can do that to a person. 

No one had spoken the entire drive. Sam could tell Dean wanted to talk to him, but didn’t. Probably because his carbon copy was the one behind the wheel. 

Sam knew Dean had a million questions for him. He would feel the same if the roles had been reversed. But, honestly, so much had happened the past several days. It was all finally starting to catch up with him, sitting in this barely-working Impala replica stuck in his own head. 

He was about to be face-to-face with his other self again. Their last encounter had not gone well at all, considering demon blood was almost forced down his throat. 

Sam was scared.

Not only did he have to see this evil version of himself again, but his Dean and Cas were going to meet him. 

What would they think?

What if they believed he was similar to his evil self? He could have easily turned into him. Just some different decision-making and this could have been him. 

Plus, his own past has it major dark spots. Honestly, Sam wasn’t sure why his Dean didn’t give up on him like the one of this world. He didn’t deserve his brother’s love and trust. He had broken it over and over again. He deserved for Dean to leave him and never come back.

Yet, here Dean was. Sitting right beside him in this broken-down Impala grumbling to himself. In an alternate universe. All to find and protect his little brother. 

While Sam didn’t deserve Dean, it meant the world to him that his brother never gave up on him. And Sam wouldn’t let him down. Not again.

Honestly, Sam was also nervous for another reason. What were they going to do to stop this other Sam?

The alternate Dean had his sights on killing him. And while a part of Sam felt his other self was far too gone to be saved, he also felt the wrongness of one brother killing the other.

Of Chuck’s perfect friggin’ ending.

Maybe his alternate self could be saved. Redemption is a possibility, Sam believed that. Because he was somehow able to redeem himself from all of his mistakes.

He had to figure this out quickly. 

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence that had once filled the air of the car. “We’re about to park. We walk the rest of the way.”

The car started to slow down to a stop. Sam looked ahead of them through the front windshield to see they were parking near another abandoned building with a field next to it. As soon as the car was parked, the alternate Dean and Cas opened their doors simultaneously. 

Castiel then opened his door, and they started piling out of the backseat. Sam’s legs almost gave out as soon as he put pressure on them. It felt like there were pins and needles running up and down them. A hand gripping tightly under his armpit was the only thing that prevented him from face planting. 

A hand belonging to the best angel in the universe. “You okay, Sam?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, Cas. My legs are asleep, that’s all. Thank you, though.”

Cas released his hold on Sam once he was able to stay balanced on his own two feet. His legs still hurt, but it was starting to get better. 

“Move the hell outta the way!”

Dean shoved lightly at Sam’s back, trying to get him to move from in front of the door so he could get out. Sam chuckled, moving away from the car. “You know you could have used the other door, dude.”

Dean stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He had a small grimace on his face, obviously in as much discomfort as Sam was in the back seat. “Well, I didn’t think you would try and eat dirt.”

Sam shot his best bitchface he could muster at Dean, causing his older brother to smile. 

“Hurry up! Let’s go.”

Right, they had a mission. They all grabbed their bags and started walking away from the Impala. Sam was curious how far away they were now from the hideout. “How much further?”

Other Dean and Cas took up the front while Sam and his Dean were in the middle. Castiel was following closely behind them, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. The other Dean yelled over his shoulder, “We’re close! About a five minute walk and we’ll be there.”

Sam didn’t respond, just kept walking. His nerves were starting to build again. He needed to come up with a plan ASAP.

“So, you met him?”

The question caught Sam completely off-guard. He looked over to his brother. “Met who?”

Dean rolled his eyes. “C’mon, man. You said you would tell me later, and now seems like as good of a time as ever. You said you met this ‘horribly evil’ clone of yours. What happened?”

Sam swallowed. Crap. He really didn’t want to talk about this now with Dean. Especially since his stomach was already in knots and he felt like vomiting at any moment. 

Officially, Sam stayed silent too long. “Cas and I have no clue what we’re getting ourselves into. We deserve to know.”

Sam flinched. Dammit, Dean was right. They had no idea what was actually going on. They were putting all of their trust in Sam, and he was already screwing it all up. 

Just like with the trap for Chuck….

No. He had to focus. He couldn’t think about that, not right now. “Sam?”

Right, he had to answer. “Um, you’re right. You deserve to know. It’s just hard cause-”

Sam stopped speaking. He couldn’t say it. The memory of his other self taunting him with the demon blood. Hurting so many people. Killing innocents. 

“Cause what, Sammy?” Dean’s voice was full of worry. But the nickname is what pushed Sam to speak, knowing his big brother was there. His actual true real-life big brother who was always there for him.

“It’s hard cause I could’ve been him. The demon blood consumed him. He killed so many people and didn’t think twice about it. He wants to destroy the world so he can rule it.”

Sam heard Dean sigh beside him. “Sam, you would never become like him.” 

“If I had made different decisions, then maybe I would have.” That was when the words started spilling out, along with all of the emotion Sam had been trying to hold back, “And then he wanted to turn me into him. Wanted me to help him destroy this world and then ours. I-I told him no. B-But then he was gonna force me to d-drink it. I have been clean for so long, I didn’t want demon blood again. I was so damn terrified.”

The tears were streaming down his face. It was taking all of his self-restraint to keep from breaking down in the middle of the dirt road they were walking on. Dean’s voice broke through, anger and fear lacing his words, “He was gonna force you to drink demon blood?”

Sam turned his head to see Dean’s eyes. There were showing no emotion. It made Sam want to squirm under their power. Please don’t let Dean see him as a monster. Please. Not after all these years of trying to prove to him how he wasn’t please-

“I’m gonna rip him apart.” 

Then, there was pure anger in Dean’s eyes. But it wasn’t directed at Sam. No, directed at Sam was the protectiveness of his big brother. One who wasn’t looking at him like a monster, but as his family. 

“I-I didn’t drink it. Crowley saved me, got me out of there just in time.”

Dean’s anger slightly dissipated. “Crowley?”

Oh yeah. Sam kinda forgot to mention the familiar faces he had met since arriving here when he gave his quick story of his time spent in this world. He excluded those tidbits of information so as to not hurt his brother. But, looks like it was too late now.

“Yeah. There’s a different version of him here. Just as helpful as our Crowley was. Except, he’s obviously not King of Hell since this Sam is the Boy King.”

Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam. “Are there any other doppelgangers running around here?”

“Yeah, I met Bobby and Rufus. They’re friends here, just like they were in our world. Except they hated me when I arrived. Officially, their Sam killed Bobby’s wife and step-daughter. Ellen and Jo.”

Dean’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “W-What?”

“They were his family, and the guy wearing my face killed them. I don’t blame him for hating my guts. I’m surprised he didn’t kill me. But, I saved him and Rufus. And we talked. Things are good now.”

Dean lifted a corner of his mouth up into a quick smile. “Good.”

And then Sam heard Castiel speak up from behind them. “What about Jack?”

Guess the angel had been listening in on the conversation. Sam took a deep breath. “Their Lucifer killed him, before Sam fought the Devil and won.”

Silence settled among the three of them. Yeah, they all knew how bad it hurt to lose the kid. 

They had already lost him.

Suddenly, Sam realized that Jack would have to be using his powers to keep the rift open, meaning Chuck could find him. “Jack! What about Jack and using his powers?!? Chuck could show up and-”

Dean cut him off. “It’s fine. Billie is helping us with this one. The warding is extra powerful this time with the help of Death.”

Sam scrunched his brows together, confused. Why the hell would Billie help them when she was so clear on Jack not using his powers?

Officially Dean could read Sam easily and quickly added, “She said you were needed in our world. So, we had to get you back. There were absolutely no arguments from me!”

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. Jack was safe. He would be okay with Billie there protecting him. He didn’t want to lose the kid again.

Sam had noticed something unusual as they were walking and talking. Ahead of them, he saw where the other Dean would slightly turn his head to look back at them. Had he heard their conversation? He never said anything, regardless. Just kept glancing back to them with an undiscernible expression, and then turned back to face forward. 

Curious. Sam felt like he needed to talk to his alternate brother again. Especially since they were almost there-

“We’re here.”

They all stopped. In front of them was a giant mansion. Officially this Sam liked the fancy stuff. But, they were finally here.

It was time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so close to the end! I am super motivated right now to finish up this fic and have been writing like crazy, so I think I'm going to be able to have it all up before this Thursday's new episode, which it had always been my goal to have this fic completed by the return of the show.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Sam sucked in a long breath. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Sam could feel his hands slightly shaking. His nerves were on edge. He still hadn’t come up with a solid plan yet. On top of it all, he had his brother and friend to worry about, too. Sam couldn’t live if Dean or Cas were hurt, or worse….

He had to stop thinking about that. He needed to shove it to the back of his mind. The more he stressed, the worse his focus would be. 

Dean obviously could sense his stress as he whispered to him, “You okay?”

Sam nodded his head. He looked to the other Dean and met his eyes. He looked resolute, but behind that wall, Sam could see the fear and anxiety in his eyes. He needed to find some time to talk with him somehow.

Alternate Dean spoke to all of them. “Everyone get your weapons, then we sneak in. Stealth is our number one weapon, or we all die.”

Everyone started to equip themselves. Alternate Dean and Cas had angel blades, along with guns that probably had Devil’s Traps carved into the bullets. His Castiel pulled out his angel blade. Dean had Ruby’s knife, along with his Colt. Sam didn’t have his Taurus on him, having left it behind in his own world. But, he had grabbed an angel blade, some salt, and holy water. They could come in handy.

He started passing some of the salt containers and bottles of holy water out to everyone. Once he was finished, the other Dean nodded his head, indicating it was go-time.

Quietly, they all started tiptoeing toward the mansion. Sam looked up and realize the full scale of the building. It was freaking huge. The outside walls were black brick with thick, brown vines hugging every corner. They appeared withered and dried, just like the other greenery and vegetation in this world. As he continued to move his gaze across the building, he noticed the windows were barred shut. He wondered if they were iron bars, since this Sam had been a hunter once upon a time. 

Once they reached the side of the mansion, the alternate Dean motioned for them to maneuver towards the back of the building.

Probably wouldn’t be the smartest of ideas to bust in through the front door. 

Sam continued to glance back to his Dean and Castiel to make sure they were still there. He would do everything he could to keep them safe. 

The moved silently through the darkness as night had finally fallen once they arrived at the hideout. They were merely shadows creeping around the corners, unrecognizable to the naked eye. 

As the slid along the side of the wall, alternate Dean quickly moved his hand in a signal to stop moving. Sam froze in his place, hoping they weren’t already in for a fight. They hadn’t even made it inside yet. 

Alternate Dean whispered to them, “There’s a side entrance. We go in that way. Stay quiet.”

Sam nodded his head, after soon realizing no one could probably see him in the dark. They started moving again, and Sam noticed the light peering out from cracks in the wall, presumably where the door was. As they neared it, Sam made sure his angel blade was out and ready in case they were attacked from the get-go. 

The alternate Dean was standing right at the door. Other Cas was right behind him, casting a glance at Sam. Sam smiled and nodded his head, showing he was ready. He turned his own head back to check on his own Dean and Cas, who both had their weapons out. Dean made eye contact with Sam, determination in his eyes. 

It was now or never. 

The alternate Dean carefully twisted the door handle, which was apparently unlocked. It easily turned and the door popped open without a sound. Sam couldn’t help but mumble, “That was easy.” 

He was afraid it was too easy.

Alternate Castiel grabbed the door, opening it all the way. The other Dean stepped into the mansion, followed suit by the other Cas. Sam took a deep breath and took three steps inside. 

They were entering into an empty hallway. The ceiling was really high up. Sam was a pretty tall man, if he did say so himself, and this hallway made him feel like he was three feet tall. There were about six wooden doors surrounding them, three on one side and three on the other. They were probably around seven feet tall, meaning the ceiling was probably another four feet higher than the top of the doors. 

The flooring was all tile. It was dark red, which made Sam feel uneasy. It looked like a river of blood beneath his boots, which unfortunately reminded him too much of his time in the Cage…

Sam shook his head. Now was DEFINITELY not the time to be having hell flashbacks. He had to stay alert to protect the four other guys with him. 

Speaking of which.

Sam swiftly looked behind him and noticed both his brother and angel had moved inside, too. Cas meticulously shut the door, making sure it made no noise whatsoever. Dean appeared to be taking in his surroundings, eyes scanning the area. 

Then, Dean’s eyes met Sam’s. He slightly nodded his head, his own way of saying he was fine and that he had Sam’s back on this. Sam smiled.

He then focused his attention ahead of himself again. He started walking as quietly as possible across the tiles, catching up to alternate Cas and Dean, who were reaching the end of the hall. Once Sam reached them, he noticed they were in a large room, which sort of looked like a library. 

There were shelves upon shelves in the room, covering all of the wall space, from the floor to the ceiling. Each shelf was slam full of books. There was no empty space to be found. 

Guess this Sam was as much of a book nerd as himself. 

They continued to tip-toe through the supposed library. So far, they hadn’t seen any demons. Which came as both a relief and concern to Sam. There had to be demons here.

So where were they?

The quiet air was making the pounding of Sam’s nervous heartbeat more apparent to his ears. He could hear his own blood pumping in his eardrums. His hands were also clammy with sweat, causing him to readjust his grip on the blade. He could also feel the warm bead of sweat drip slowly down his forehead, as if it were going at such a sluggish speed so as to not potentially disturb the silence.

Just as they were about to enter another room, footsteps could be heard coming from the direction they were heading. Sam tightened his grip on the angel blade preparing himself to fight if he needed to. He moved to stand closer to one of the bookshelves next to the doorway. His Dean and Cas stood next to him, weapons at the ready. The other Dean and Cas were on the other side of the doorway in similar stances.

The footsteps continued to grow louder as they were getting closer. Finally, Sam could see the leg step through the doorway, and the other Dean pounced from his wall, subduing both the demon’s arms with his own arm thrown around it’s waist. His other hand was slammed across it’s mouth, effectively muffling any sound it tried to make.

Sam noticed the vessel looked like a young man, probably in his early twenties. His black shaggy hair was similar to his own, except the black eyes staring back at him reminded him what he was actually seeing in front of himself. 

Sam jumped forward, plunging the angel blade right into the heart of the demon. It sparked several times, blood seeping from the fatal wound. Finally, the demon went slack in the other Dean’s arms, making Sam yank the blade out of the body. Alternate Dean quietly moved the corpse to the floor. 

Stealth was their best ally at this point. 

The other Dean took a breath before motioning for them to keep going. As everyone started moving, Sam grabbed his alternate brother’s elbow. He had noticed the steadfast focus he had when holding the demon had shifted into anxiety. He whispered, “You good?”

The other Dean looked like he was about to nod his head when he paused. “No,” he whispered back, “I’m not. I’m about to see my Sam again. I haven’t seen him in so long. And I’m about to kill him. It’s just…. really hard.”

Sam thought about his answer for a moment. He understood exactly the feeling this Dean had. And after spending some time with him the past several days, he had learned so much more about him. 

“You and your Dean keep making me think I’m reliving a memory of my own.”

Sam’s eyes snapped up to meet this Dean’s. There was a clear sheen over the green eyes reflecting back at him. “The way you two banter and care for each other. Acting like brothers. I just- I miss it so damn much.”

Sam wanted to say something to comfort the clone of the man he looked up to so much, but he didn’t have any words to aid the situation. All he could say was, “I know you do.” 

A tear slipped out from the other Dean’s eye. It silently moved down his cheek. “Spending time with you these past few days honestly messed me up. It felt so much like I had my baby brother back. Just, thank you.”

Sam almost asked why he was thanking him, but he realized the answer instantly. It was because he was able to provide this Dean the experience of having a brother again. He wasn’t a replacement, but officially a good stand-in. 

Damn.

Alternate Dean swiftly moved his hand across his cheek, the tear disappearing like magic. The emotion his eyes once held was replaced with intense focus. “Let’s keep going.” 

And with that, he turned and walked away from Sam, leaving him alone in the room. Sam sighed, shoving his own emotions into a box within himself. He needed to keep moving. 

He moved through the doorway into the next room, where everyone else was. This room appeared to be a study. Wooden desks and chairs surrounded the area, along with a few smaller bookshelves as compared to the last room. The blood red tile floor changed to wood flooring, similar to the library back at the bunker. 

They were about to keep moving when someone stepped into view from the shadows. 

“Ah boys, it’s good to see you.”

Bela Talbot. 

His own brother’s shocked voice echoed in the room. “Bela? You’re here?”

She smiled a sinister grin, scanning each of their faces before landing on Sam’s. Her lips turned up further. “Of course I’m here. And we’ve been expecting you.”

Sam felt himself shiver under her gaze. The other Dean spoke up. “What the hell do you mean?”

Suddenly, Sam felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He tried to turn quickly when something hit him in the back of the head. Something hard. 

His vision started swimming with black dots, and he felt like his head was underwater. Sounds were difficult to make out. He swore he heard his name being yelled. Another hit shocked his senses, except this one was to his back, causing him to fly forwards, the ground coming up to meet him quicker than he anticipated. 

His body slammed into the floor, a groan escaping from his lips. His eyes were wanting to shut, the feeling of exhaustion overwhelming him. Just before eyelids dropped further closed, he heard a voice he swore he recognized. One that sounded.... just like him.

“Well, you see, this was all a trap for our own special guests. Welcome to the party.”

That’s when the darkness enveloped him.


	20. Chapter 20

Pounding. That was the first sensation that registered to Sam’s senses. His head was throbbing with pain. 

He wanted to move his hands to press against his temples to potentially alleviate the pain with pressure, but realized there was something cool and metal around his wrists. 

It hit him all at once. Everything that had happened. And the last voice he heard had also matched his own…

Sam peeled his eyelids open, feeling like they had been superglued together. It was uncomfortable, but he needed to be awake and alert. He needed to find Dean and Cas.

Bright lights forced his eyes to squint. Slowly, he was able to adjust his vision to where he could see clearly. He then recognized he was sitting on something that wasn’t the floor. Maybe a chair? 

His head was hung low from when his body was unconscious. He swiftly lifted it up in order to scan his surroundings. 

“Finally, he’s awake.”

Sam whipped his head over to the sound, which caused the pounding to ricochet to incredible heights. He almost let out a groan from the discomfort, but bit his tongue back instead, not wanting to show any weakness.

From beside him, he saw a figure walk by dressed in an all-black suit, and he realized it had to be the same person he had last seen in that exact attire. 

A face matching his own was staring back at him as his alternate self moved to be directly in front of him. Sam attempted to swing his arms, but remembered they were bound presumably with handcuffs behind the wooden chair he could now see he was sitting on. He glanced down towards his feet to see his ankles were also handcuffed tightly to the legs of the chair. He tried to move his legs any, but his attempts were futile. 

He was stuck.

Sam felt fear climb its way up himself when he realized he couldn’t see Dean or Castiel. He frantically started twisting his head to find them.

He was able to see them to his right. Dean’s legs were tied together with thick rope and his wrists were handcuffed above his head, leaving him almost dangling off the floor. Thankfully, his feet could somewhat still touch. Sam knew if they weren’t even slightly on the ground, Dean could dislocate his shoulder or hurt himself worse. 

Beside Dean was Cas, who was in a ring of holy fire that was steadily burning, the flames licking the oxygen feeding into them. He was focused on the other Sam. 

Dean, on the other hand, was staring right at him. He looked of pure big brother worry. But, he was trying to hide it with anger and a resolved expression, attempting to remain strong for Sam. 

Sam was just trying to not fall apart at the moment.

He twisted to his left and saw the alternate Dean and Cas in the same positions opposite of his own family’s. Alternate Dean looked pissed, but also terrified and somber. Probably because his little brother was standing in front of him for the first time in a while, planning to do who-knows-what to them. 

As Sam analyzed their situation, he realized they were in a new room. It looked like a living area space, except there was little-to-no furniture. Sam almost wanted to describe it like a dungeon or torture chamber, but it looked too nice to be that. The walls were a bright, blinding white shade, while the floor was that same bloody red tile he saw earlier in the mansion. When he glanced upward, he noticed a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was almost breathtaking, if it weren’t for the fact he was strapped to a chair staring at it.

The other Sam’s voice broke him from his thoughts. “Well, what do we have here? Not only do I have my own big brother and trenchcoated angel, but also an alternate version of them! Double trouble!”

His eyes gleamed with pure glee when speaking those words. Sam wanted to vomit everywhere. 

“And as the cherry on top, I have my other self, again.”

The other Sam approached him, bending down to be closer to his eye level as he spoke. “It was really rude of you to disappear on me. No goodbye, no hug. Nothing! I would’ve thought your dad had taught you better manners.”

His Dean’s voiced echoed in the room. “Get away from him!”

The other Sam’s eye swung over in the direction of his brother. An amused smile tugged at his lips as he stood to his full frame. 

He pointed over towards the alternate Dean. “You sound just like he did, before he disowned me.”

Sam turned his head to see his Dean scowl at the other Sam, pulling at his restraints. Sam knew he had to be bruising and damaging his wrists. It made him cringe. He had to find a way out of this.

The other him continued, “You see, once upon a time, I had a big brother who loved me. Who would protect me with his life. Then, he went and abandoned me.” Alternate Sam’s gaze moved across the room to fall on his brother. “Drank himself to oblivion while I was willing to sacrifice everything to save the world. To save him. And what is the thanks I get? Being called a monster. Being tossed aside as unwanted. Being treated not as a brother, but as the enemy.”

Venom laced the words coming out of his mouth, all aimed to hurt. Alternate Dean looked smaller as the accusations were thrown his way. In fact, he looked sorrowful, and even regretful. He didn’t try to deny any of it, just kept his eyes downcast to the floor, actively avoiding eye contact with the other Sam. 

It only took a few moments to know where this was all heading to, and Sam needed to do something fast. He was trapped, but he had another useful asset in his personal toolkit. 

His own words and intellect.

“So, what now? You gonna kill all of us?”

He could feel all eyes staring at him. It was enough to cause the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up. The other Sam moved directly in front of him again, eyes piercing Sam’s being. 

“Is that what you want?”

Sam knew what he wanted. “I want this to end.”

The copy of himself tilted his head to the side, similar to what Cas used to do, except his once amused smiled turned into one filled with pity. “Very well-”

“I also want to know why.”

The other Sam paused, having been completely caught off-guard after being interrupted. “Why?”

“Why do this? All of this? I know you’ve shared your sob story with me, but is this all really worth it? Are you even happy?”

His alternate self scoffed at him, fury starting to enrage in his eyes, like a fire roaring to life. “I’ll never be happy. That’s the reality I am left with, but I’ve chosen to make the most out of it!”

Sam took a steadying breath. “So, to make the most of your life, you destroy this world?”

It was like a switch was flipped with the man standing across from him wearing his face. The once calm, menacing front twisted into pure rage. His alternate self pounced at him, a hard force slamming into his left cheek, causing pain to radiate on that side of his face like an aftershock. Sam could taste iron in his mouth, probably his teeth slicing the inside of his cheek. 

It took a second to realize he was actually punched in the face. He could finally filter in sounds again after the shock wore off. A series of yelling resembling “Sam!” and “Sammy!” were coming from both sides. 

When he looked in front of himself again, he noticed the other Sam was standing straight up again, adjusting his black tie. “It’s Dean’s fault,” the other him seethed, “that I became this way. He will never take any responsibility for it, but that’s the truth. He helped turn me into this.”

His next words made Sam stop breathing.

“How about we show your own big brother just what kind of ‘monster’ you can be?”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter for nearing the finale! I cannot believe that we are literally almost to the end. The last chapter will be up soon later today. Enjoy!

Panic resurfaced as he racked through his brain for ways to stop this. All the while, the other Sam was moving closer to Dean. He couldn’t let him hurt his brother. He just couldn’t. Not after everything. 

He thought back to when he first met this version of himself. He remembered his alternate self mentioning both of them ruling the world together. 

Together. 

“Take me!”

A beat. Silence ensued for a few seconds. 

“Excuse me?”

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. “I said to take me. Leave my brother alone. Leave all of them alone, and you can have me.”

No matter how much power and force he attempted to put behind his voice, it still came out shaky, his nerves revealing themselves. His whole body was vibrating in the chair, worry and anxiety over his family overwhelming him. He needed his alternate self to agree.

It took no time for Dean’s booming voice to echo out, having realized what Sam said. “Sammy, no! NO! Leave him alone! Don’t you touch him!”

At this point, Sam could only see the back of his alternate self. He wasn’t moving, frozen to the spot. Soon, Castiel’s pleas joined Dean’s. “Don’t hurt him! Please!”

The other Sam didn’t move, but spoke, “You’re willing to give yourself up for them? The people who thought you a monster? The people who didn’t trust you? Who controlled you?”

His voice was full of anger and hate, but it was spoken so softly that Sam almost didn’t catch what he asked. His tone was full of sadness, betrayal, loneliness, and despair. 

“Yes. Always. Because sure, they’ve made mistakes. But, I have, too. And regardless of our screw ups, they love me and I love them. They’re family. In the end, they’re the ones who are there for me. Who protect me. Who’ll give everything for me. And I will for them, too. Even my own life.”

Sam shifted his eyes over to his brother’s face. He had a clear sheen over his eyes, and his face was full of fear. Fear for the safety of his little brother. Sam knew that, always had. Dean would die to protect him. Has already. Dean, his big brother who raised him, because Sam knew who his true parent was, and the answer wasn’t John or Mary. The one person Sam had always looked up to in life, whose opinion mattered. Who was his hero. 

Hell yeah Sam would sacrifice himself for him.

The other Sam had carefully shifted around to face him, eyes downcast to the ground. He didn’t appear angry, but instead upset and deep in thought. 

Sam turned his head to the opposite side of the room where the alternate Dean and Cas were located. Other Dean stared at his brother with confusion and what seemed to Sam like hope. He moved his eyes over to meet Sam’s. Sam figured he knew what was running through the guy’s mind. 

Keeping his eyes on the other Dean, Sam added, “Horrible crap happens. We do bad things and the world tries to crash in on itself. But no matter how bad it gets, I will always be there for my family.”

A single tear slipped out from the other Dean’s eye and slid down his cheek slowly. 

Suddenly, the handcuffs that held his bound limbs sprung open. He noticed both Dean’s fall to the ground and the holy fire magically extinguished. He jumped up from the chair, taking a few steps away from it. Then, he flipped his gaze around to the only one he figured would be responsible. 

“I- I don’t know what I’m doing.” 

His alternate self moved towards him. Dean had already been making his way across the room, shoving Sam behind him. “You stay away from him,” his brother hissed. 

Sam gripped his brother’s shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay.” 

Dean looked like he wanted to fight him on this, but Sam, using the hand on his shoulder, pulled him back some, moving to step in front of him. With one more nod of his head, he turned to see his other self standing ahead of him.

Before any words could be said, Sam felt something violently grab his arm and yank him to the side. He stumbled several steps to keep from slamming his face into the ground for a second time that day. When he finally recovered, he turned around to see the alternate Dean holding an angel blade right at the other Sam’s chest. 

The other Sam didn’t even look the slightest bit confused. “How’d you sneak it past my demons? We searched all of you for weapons.”

Alternate Dean’s voice came out shaky. “Had it charmed. Looks like a keychain until I add my blood to it.” He held his palm out, showing the small cut in the center that had blood seeping from it. “Also, sigils were painted on it, to keep demons from detecting it.”

Sam wanted to do something. Anything. But, he knew there wasn’t anything he could really do at this point other than stand by and watch what would happen. 

What seems to always inevitably happen in every universe.

One brother kills the other.

The other Sam remained calm, eyes still staring at the floor. “Why did you push me away? Back before I killed Lucifer, before even the demon blood. You blocked me out, and I-I just wanna know why.”

Alternate Dean faltered slightly, pausing before answering the question. “I was scared and hurting. And I didn’t want to show that to you. I was supposed to be your strong older brother, but instead I was a scared weakling.” He continued to keep the blade pointed at alternate Sam’s chest, but his hand was beginning to shake. “I guess I pushed you away to make things easier for myself. If I drank all of my worries and cares away, then I didn’t have to feel the pain I was in. I became numb. And with you, I can’t be numb.”

The other Sam took in a deep, stuttering breath before lifting his eyes up to meet his brother’s. “You know, I only drank the demon blood originally to save you and Cas. World be damned. I wanted my family to be safe. I-I didn’t want to go back to drinking it. I knew I was making a huge ass sacrifice by doing it, but I never did it for power or even for revenge against Lucifer. I did it for you.”

Sam looked between the two of them. The other Dean’s arm that held the angel blade was still shaking, mere inches away from alternate Sam’s heart. Sam felt like he was barely breathing, not knowing what would happen next.

Other Dean said, “I know, Sam. I was just so pissed and drunk that I lost it when you told me. I held it against you, just like I had for years before. And that wasn’t fair. Both times, you were trying for the right reason. I should have listened better to you rather than steamrolling right over everything you said. I should’ve been a big brother.”

“Are you gonna kill me?”

The words were spoken without any emotion. In fact, they were said similarly to how Sam spoke whenever he gave up on something. When he already knew the answer.

“Everyone is expecting me to do it. It’s what I should do. You destroyed this world, Sammy.” Sam noticed his alternate self flinch at the familiar name. “You killed innocent people, murdered them in cold blood. You reigned over the demons as their king. Do you not feel any remorse at all for any of it?”

Sam himself was curious to what the answer would be. When he had encountered his other self several days ago, it appeared like he had no bad feelings towards what he had done. But the man standing in front of him now looked so damn guilty. Sam listened intently to each word he said, holding his own breath.

“Yes. I’ve never admitted it, but yeah. I never wanted to become the villain. That’s why I was a hunter. I wanted to save people, not destroy them. Honestly, after you said I was a monster and meant it, I decided to just accept that as my identity. If you believed I was one, then it had to be true. The more and more I came to terms with it, the easier it was to shove my humanity down and let the demon blood do its thing. But when I’m alone, it all comes back to me. And it becomes so overwhelming. Instead of dealing with it, I just continued to shove it further and further away, sealing those emotions with lock and key. It made living this way less painful.”

Sam tried to detect any form of lies in his words, but found them to sound exactly as he did whenever he was being fully transparent and sincere. He released the breath he had been holding, waiting to see how the other Dean responded. 

“What made them show up tonight?”

The other Sam’s eyes flicked over to meet his own before quickly meeting alternate Dean’s again. “I realized what I used to be like. Who I was before all of this crap happened. And I understand now how far I have fallen. I hate what I’ve become.”

Another pause. “So, I ask you my question again,” the other Sam continued, voice quivering this time, “are you gonna kill me?”

The angel blade didn’t move, still hovering at the other Sam’s chest. “If this had been a few days ago, I would’ve done it already, no hesitation. But,” the other Dean turned his head slightly to the side as his eyes found Sam, “someone also showed me what it was like to have my Sammy back.” He gave Sam a soft smile before returning back to his own brother. “He also made me realize I’ve been a crappy big brother. I didn’t want to accept the blame for what had happened because I thought it would kill me. I was supposed to be the one who protected you, who looked out for you. And instead, I beat you down and threw you to the side.”

Alternate Dean gave a shaky breath, and Sam noticed several more tears trailing down his cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, Sammy.” A beat. “I just want my brother back.”

Sam felt his own heart break at the other Dean’s broken voice. He never wanted to hear Dean sound like that, regardless if it was his own version or not. 

The other Sam looked on the verge of tears, as well. “I want that, too.” Then, a lonely tear escaped his eye. “I’m sorry, Dean. I-I can’t believe what I’ve-”

And that was when a sob escaped alternate Sam’s mouth, his hands reaching up to his head in utter pain and pure misery. He started to fall forward, but the other Dean chunked the blade across the room at lightning speed, catching his brother. 

Both of them were crying in each other’s arms. 

Sam looked over to the other Castiel, who had his own tears streaming down his face. Sam hadn’t seen really any emotion whatsoever from him since he arrived to this universe. 

The other Dean reached his arm out to Cas, saying, “You’re welcome, too, ya know.” And Cas immediately ran over and joined them, all jumbled on the floor.

Sam turned behind himself to find his own family staring back at him. Dean had a fond look on his face. Castiel also seemed to have one, but both meant something deeper. Something only Sam would see and understand.

Love.

Sam couldn’t help but feel the corners of his lips lift up. He had his own family. One that loved him no matter what. One that would travel to another universe just to find him, and stay just because he asked them to. One he couldn’t be more proud to be a part of. 

After a few minutes, the cry session on the floor seemed to ease up. They all stood to their feet again, wiping tears from their eyes. Sam took the opportunity to speak up. “So, what now?”

The other Sam answered quickly, “I want to fix this. All of it. My power should be enough to help bring life to this planet I killed. I just wish there was a way I could do more.”

“Hello boys.”

Sam whipped his head around to the source of the voice. He recognized it immediately. Billie, aka Death 2.0. 

Dean yelled, “Billie? What are you doing here, you’re supposed to be with Jack?!?”

She took one step forward, eyes staring like daggers at Dean. “Jack is fine. My warding is exceptionally powerful and he is still strong enough to keep the rift open. However, you were taking too long, so I came to see what the issue was.”

The other Dean piped in, “Who the hell is Billie? Is she a demon?”

Billie moved her eyes over to their alternate versions, appearing even more annoyed. “More than one Winchester, lucky me.”

Alternate Sam stared at her in confusion. “She’s not a demon, I can tell you that. But so much power, even more than me. Who are you?”

She gave a small, sarcastic smile. “I’m Death.”

The three doppelgangers looked absolutely stunned. Other Dean whispered, “D-Death?”

She walked to the side of the room, eyes scanning the area, but continued talking, “Yes. I’ve never personally visited this universe before. It always felt off,” she turned her head to face Sam and his Dean and Cas, “Now I know why with these three here.”

She then focused only on them. “We need to leave.”

Before any of them could say a word, the other Sam blurted out, “Can you help me? Please?”

She side-eyed him. “Help you?”

“Yes. I wanna fix this mess I made. I have an idea on a way to do it, but I need your help to make it happen. Your power, I can sense it. It’s astronomical.” 

She rolled her eyes before speaking, “What do you want my help with?”

Alternate Sam took a few steps forward closer to her, earnestly spewing out words, “I think I can fix the land and environment with my own powers; however, I want to do more. I want to bring back those I killed, or whose death was a result from me.”

Billed raised her eyebrows. “You want me to bring hundreds to thousands of people back alive?”

The other Sam gulped. “Y-Yes. Please?”

Billie stood there for a second, both hands on her hips. Sam did not expect that from his alternate self. Raising all of those he killed would be a massive feat, even for Billie. 

“Okay.”

Sam’s eyes widened to the point he thought his eyeballs would pop out of their sockets. His Dean spoke for both of them, “Really?!?”

Billie addressed both of them, saying, “Your world is different than most since it was the first to be created. Bringing souls back messes with the balance of life there. These other worlds are different. They’re woven in a separate manner from yours, an easier manner.”

Sam felt like his head might explode trying to wrap his brain around that piece of information. Why are things so freaking damn complicated in their own universe?

Billie faced the other Sam. “Come here. We’ll do this together. I pull from some of your power while also using my own.”

He turned to look back at alternate Dean, who gave him an encouraging smile. Alternate Sam then walked over to Billie and hesitantly reached his hand out to her. She then grabbed it.

At first, nothing happened. They were all just standing, staring at one another. Then, a bright light blinded Sam. It caused him to shield his face, the brightness hurting his eyes even closed. It was unbearably intense, and a hand met his arm, pulling him away from the light. He felt it covering him, and it wasn’t until he heard the frenzied chanting of “It’s okay, Sammy. I gotcha” that Sam realized it was his Dean. 

Sam reached out with his hands blindly into the air until it brushed fabric. He grabbed on to it, pulling it towards himself. A deep grunt was enough to tell him that was Cas. Sam yelled out, “We don’t wanna lose you!”

They stood there, huddled together for a few seconds. The pain from the light was getting worse and worse as the time ticked by. It was becoming unbearable, sharp pain shooting inside his head as a headache settled in. He just wanted it to stop.

Immediately, the light disappeared, along with the immense agony. Sam slowly blinked his eyes open, only seeing dots at first. But soon, images started becoming clearer before him. And he quickly noted they were no longer in the mansion, and instead near the forest the Resistance was last located. 

Sam was more than confused. How the hell did they get here?

His brother seemed to be having the same thoughts. “Where the hell are we? How’d we get here?”

Sam twisted around to see the other Dean and Cas huddled around a body lying on the ground. His alternate self’s body.

Billie then appeared in front of them. “It’s done.”

The other Dean jumped up, stalking over to her, “What did you do to him?”

She addressed him with no hesitation, “He’s asleep. Removing the demon blood from his system probably wore him out.”

Sam’s mouth fell open in shock. The other Dean’s face matched similarly. “Y-You what?”

“I could see inside your brother’s mind when we were connected. I saw the absolute self hatred and guilt he had for what he’d done. I know I might not look the type, but I do show mercy every once in a while. Sometimes through death, and sometimes through miracles.”

Sam couldn’t stop himself from speaking, “When I got cleared of demon blood, God had to be the one to do it. So how were you powerful enough to do that?”

She smiled at them all, “I tapped deep into my own powers and pulled at his. The mixture of our energy was enough to perform some minor miracles. He was very powerful, even more so than what you all knew.”

She then moved closer to the other Sam’s still form. “This world is lively once again, filled with greenery and animals. I was also able to bring back those killed by his actions. I took the liberty of doing some extra things out of the goodness of my heart, such as sending all of the demons back to hell. And, more importantly, saving Sam’s life.”

The other Dean studied Billie, “Saving him from the demon blood?”

“Yes. And from the people of this world. Like I mentioned before, Sam’s power mixed with my own gave me some god-like abilities. I was able to place his memories from this whole interaction into all of their minds, showing them the truth. That he sacrificed everything to fix his mess. And, I might have added my own tag-line in there to help solidify it all. Something related to him not being a danger anymore.”

She then turned her attention to Sam. “You’ve got one hour before you three need to go back through the rift. So, say your goodbyes quickly.”

And then she was gone. 

Sam looked around himself and noticed the beautiful blue sky, along with the dewy green patches of grass surrounding them. The air didn’t stink of death anymore, and instead smelled like fresh flowers. 

They did it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're on to the finale. It's hard to believe we're here, but we finally made it. Thank you all again for the support on this story. It means so much to me. 
> 
> One last chapter to go...


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is: the end. Honestly, I just want to say a huge thank you to all of you who have supported this story. When I decided to start writing this, I just randomly came up with the idea. I only thought it would be a few chapters, and that would be it. But the more I wrote, and the more I saw how much you all enjoyed it, the more I wanted to make sure this story was done well. This was my first long story I've ever written. I was nervous about if anyone would like it or not, but you all helped me feel more confident as a writer. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, leaving kudos, etc. because it all truly means so much to me. 
> 
> I had always made it a goal to finish this story before the new episodes started back for the final season. Here I am, the morning of the premiere for the first episode after the long break posting the final chapter. I definitely will be writing more. I have so many different ideas floating around in my head, so expect more from me soon. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the finale to Things are Different.

The other Sam groaned as his eyes fluttered open. He looked dazed, eyes drifting somewhere far off in the distance. Sam wondered what was running through his mind, or if he even knew what just happened. 

“Sammy, you okay?” the other Dean asked. He stayed crouched beside him, one hand placed gently on his chest. Sam recognized the gesture since his own Dean did that to him, too. To help keep him grounded and know he wasn’t alone.

Alternate Sam wheezed, “It’s done, isn’t it?”

The other Castiel bent down to lightly pat him on the head. “Yes, it’s done. The world feels like it has light in it again.”

His alternate self smiled, then shifted his eyes towards his brother. “I feel different, like- like I’ve been cleansed.”

Sam broke in then, completely understanding the feelings he had. “Billie removed the demon blood from you. You’re free.”

It was like a switch flipped for alternate Sam as his energy transferred from angry self hatred to pure bright excitement. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes as he swung his head around to his Dean, confirming what he was just told. “R-Really?”

Alternated Dean grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him into a hug. “Yeah, you’re completely you again.”

Sam remembered where they were at that moment, realizing the Resistance might still be gearing up for a fight. “Oh crap! We should let those people know no war is coming.” He started walking into the tree line, which was now full of bright, green leaves, until he felt a grip on his arm.

Turning his head, he saw Dean and Cas behind him. Dean released his arm, saying, “Where you go, we go.”

Sam couldn’t stop the big, fat grin that spread across his lips. He reached his own arms out, pulling Dean in by his shoulders to a warm embrace. He then gestured to Castiel, who was standing awkwardly beside them. “Well, you gonna join in on this, or am I gonna have to yank you over?”

Castiel’s smile was warm and full of genuine happiness. He walked over, joining them in a group hug. After everything, he still had them. And he would be damned if he ever lost them. 

After a few seconds, they all released each other, goofy smiles plastered on their faces. Sam pointed towards the trees. “C’mon, I want you both to meet some amazing people.”

Once they made their ways through the trees, Sam could finally see the camp. Everyone was talking, but didn’t look afraid or tense for an impending battle. He scanned his eyes over everyone, attempting to locate some specific individuals.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up.”

Sam glanced behind him to see his family’s shocked faces as Bobby and Rufus walked up. Sam’s smile grew even wider the closer they approached. “Bobby, Rufus. It’s so good to see you again.”

They looked truly thrilled to see him. Bobby said, “We were worried about ya, kid.”

Sam quietly chuckled, “Yeah, same here.”

Rufus patted Bobby’s shoulder. “We know what happened. Somehow, we all saw it. He really brought it all back?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, he did. Realized how horrible he had become, and wanted to be better.”

Rufus stood, deep in thought, before adding, “Well, he still has a long way to go before anyone will be fully accepting him, but that was a damn big step in the right direction.”

Sam agreed. He knew it would take a very long time before anyone here would trust or even speak to his alternate self. But slowly, over time, he felt like things might get better.

Sam realized then they weren’t alone. “Oh, by the way,” Sam gestured to his brother and angel behind him, “this is my Dean and Castiel.”

Sam took a step back out of the way as Bobby reached his hand out toward them. “I don’t know how in the hell you two managed to get here, but welcome.”

Sam could see the unshed tears building in Dean’s eyes. While they had the apocalypse version of Bobby in their own world, he didn’t fully act like the one they knew. This Bobby had a lot more similarities to their own. 

Dean reached out, gripping his hand with a firm shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Bobby released his hand, looking back over to Sam. “I’m guessin’ if they’re here, you’ll be on your way, then?”

Sam gave a soft smile to the two older men. “Yeah. It’s time for me to go back to my own home.”

Suddenly, three more footsteps emerged beside them, all faces he recognized. Ace, Jett, and even Crowley were there. Ace stepped forward, addressing Sam. “You’re leaving?”

Sam nodded his own head. “I got my own world to go save now.” Ace walked straight up to him, instantly pulling him into a hug. “You’re a good man, Sam Winchester. Keep being one.”

Sam pulled back, looking him right in the eye. Ace had been someone who helped him to feel more certain of himself. “Yes, sir.”

Ace smiled at him, before backing away. Jett moved over to him, then. Sam realized he looked so much better from when they had left on their journey. “Hey, Jett. I just wanted to say thank you. While our first encounter didn’t start off on the right foot, you punching me and all, you were still the first person here to show me kindness. That honestly means so much to me.”

Tears were already rolling down Jett’s cheek. “I knew there was something different about you when I saw you coming down those stairs in that abandoned house. I could tell you had good in you somewhere. Turns out, I was right.”

Sam yanked him over, crushing him with his arms as he held him. He was worried if Jett would be okay after the whole Jacob situation. But, Sam could see now that he would be just fine. 

After a moment, Sam released him, moving his attention over to the very demon who saved his life. “Crowley.”

Crowley rolled his eyes. “Now Moose, I don’t get all sentimental.”

Sam recognized the strength behind his words, sounding more confident. “You know, with my other self stepping away, the throne in hell is probably open. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you would be a great king. Someone needs to keep those demons in line so this doesn’t happen again.”

Crowley thought it over. “Hm, King of Hell does have nice ring to it.”

Sam smiled for like the hundredth time that day. He then moved over to Rufus and Bobby. “I’ll miss you both so much.”

Rufus wiped at his eye. “Now kid, ya done gone and made me emotional.”

Sam shakily laughed, his own eyes filing up with tears. They pulled him into a group hug, hearing Bobby whisper, “Take care of yourself, ya idjit.”

The tears slipped from his eyes. “I will. Same to you both.” They then let go of each other, Sam’s heart breaking at the thought of leaving them. All of them. 

It’s weird how these people went from hating his guts to being his friends. Sam recalled thinking the entire time he was in this universe how badly he wanted to get away from them all. Now, he didn’t want to go without them.

As he turned his head, though, he saw his own family. He remembered why he was leaving, and it was for them. 

Sam turned back around one last time, taking in all of his friends faces. “Thank you all again. For everything.” 

They all smiled at him, waving as he turned to leave. Just as him, Dean, and Cas walked into the forest, he caught a voice he recognized. He glanced back to see Ellen kissing Bobby, while Jo was talking to Jett. 

Sam smiled to himself before he kept walking.

When they reached the clearing where they had emerged from, Sam noticed their copies were still waiting there, along with Billie. 

“It’s time. I hid the rift so no random person walked into it, and I’ll bring it to here.”

Sam glanced over to the three beings standing to the side. “Let me tell them goodbye real fast, then we can go.” She rolled her eyes, but nodded. 

Sam walked over to the other Castiel first, noticing he seemed more cheerful than he had been in the past. “Well, someone looks happy.”

Cas grinned. “My wings are back. I’m a full angel again.” Sam’s face was beaming. “That’s great news, Cas!” 

The angel then pulled him into a hug, catching Sam off-guard. “Thank you for saving my family.” Sam pulled him in tighter for a second longer before letting go. His eyes then moved to the replica of himself standing next to Cas.

“Stay good,” he said, knowing there was much more meaning behind his words. He saw his other self recognized it, too, standing up taller. “I will. Thank you for reminding me of who I actually am.” Sam bowed his head quickly, before moving toward the last person in line.

“Well, I know you’re probably happy to get rid of me, y’know after back talking you and all,” Sam joked. He could see the tears welling up in his alternate brother’s eyes. So much damn crying today. 

“Sam, you taught me so freakin’ much. I was a shell of a man until you arrived. You reminded me of what it was like to actually be a human being. I’m so damn grateful that spell pulled you here. Thank you.”

He pulled Sam into a tight hug, one that was all-too familiar to Sam. He held back tightly for a second, his own warm tears making their way down his face. They pulled away from each other. 

They would be okay. 

He walked backwards, closer to his own family, never taking his eyes off the three individuals he was leaving. 

Billie said, “Alright, let’s send you boys back home.” An energy so powerful appeared next to them, causing Sam to move his focus to it. The rift. 

His Cas stepped in first. Followed by Dean. Sam walked up to it, then looked back one last time. He saw tears and arms waving back at him. Smiling, he gave one final wave before stepping through the portal.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a couple hours since they arrived back to their world. Jack looked exhausted, but still literally ran up and jumped into Sam’s arms. After their reunion, Sam went a took a shower, one that was extremely needed. He was now sitting in the library, staring off at the wall. 

It all kinda felt like a dream to him. He couldn’t help but wonder what was going on back there right now. He knew there was still a lot of things needing to be fixed, but he trusted and believed his friends he left behind could handle it. 

A voice broke him from his thoughts. “Sammy, you good?”

Dean sat down across from him, two beers in his hand. He pushed one across the table to Sam, who caught it easily. “Yeah, just thinking about it all.”

Dean took a long swig from his beer. “It looked like you made a huge impact on them.”

Sam popped the bottle cap off before raising the beer up to his lips, alcohol slightly burning his throat on the way down. “Yeah, I guess I did. I don’t know, seeing all of that, it just made me realize how thankful I am to have had you, along with Cas, Bobby, and our other friends and family. You all helped stop me from going over the edge. You all never gave up on me. So, thanks.”

Dean placed his beer down on the table, leaning in on his elbows to be closer to Sam. His face was serious as he said, “First, we will always be here for you. Second, you were never evil, Sam. There was evil crap inside you, but you fought it and won. You were strong enough to do that. And I’m so damn proud of you.”

Sam’s lips turned up. Hearing Dean say those words to him meant more than he would ever know.

His whole life had been a series of pain and suffering, but there were also the times when light broke through. Like when Dean taught him how to ride a bicycle, or when they both went out to watch the stars. There was so much good, and he had let the dark override it for so long. 

Sam realized he had a new feeling settling in his chest, one he hadn’t felt in a few weeks. 

Hope.

Because he saw another Sam and Dean defy all odds with his help. A Sam and Dean that didn’t kill the other. If Sam could make it happen for them, then he would sure as hell make it a reality for him and his own brother. They would win this. Somehow, they would. 

“Bitch.”

Sam met Dean’s eyes then, knowing all of the true meaning behind the nickname.

Yeah, they would find a way. Because he had his family by his side.

“Jerk.”


End file.
